Spaghetti Squash & Marinara

I recently tried two of my resolutions in one dish, making marinara to serve over spaghetti squash. I would include a picture, but I am no food stylist and a pile of squash covered in sauce is not particularly photogenic. Anyway, spaghetti squash is very easy to make. When picking your squash, pick one that feels firm and heavy for its size--basically just like you do with a pumpkin. It should be ivory or pale yellow, though there are some varieties that tend to be more orange. This is okay.

To prepare, cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds (and ice cream scoop works very well for this task). Put the squash halves cut side down in a baking dish and pierce the skins all over with a fork. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes until tender. The squash will be HOT so use a potholder or thick towel to hold the squash half cut side up (trust me, a paper towel will not be thick enough). Scrape the inside of the squash with a fork--you will be amazed at the almost shredded wheat texture of the squash as you scrape it out.

Marinara is also far easier than I expected. I took a few medium tomatoes (4-5), copped them into wedges, and sauteed them in a saucepan with some chopped garlic, Italian seasoning, and olive oil. The tomatoes essentially "melt" getting soft and watery, at which point you can grind them up in a food mill, food processor, or blender to get whatever consistency you like. I like mine fairly chunky so I just kept stirring with a spoon until I broke up the tomatoes a bit into smaller pieces, almost like diced tomatoes from a can. I added a small can of tomato paste for thickness, and threw some sauteed portobella mushrooms into the mix as well. It took awhile for the tomatoes to cook down properly, I think about 45 minutes. It was not thick marinara like you would get from a jar or at a restaurant, but it was definitely passable. Sprinkle or grate a little parmesan or asiago on the top, and you get an extremely healthy and tasty dish. I also like to grind a little black pepper over the top, but that may be just my own thing.

Spaghetti squash should be fresh from local farms for the next couple of months, and tomatoes seem to be at their peak right now. They are bursting out of bins at farmer's markets everywhere.