Italian-Style Spaghetti Squash by @KorinaMossAuthor

KORINA MOSS: This Italian-style spaghetti squash is something I make year-round but especially this time of year when I want comfort food but my body says, "No more pasta!" It's a lighter version, but gives me the pasta vibe. (After all, it is called spaghetti squash.) And you know if it's from me, then it's easy peasy to make. 

Ingredients:

1 spaghetti squash 

olive oil

1 head of garlic

parmigiana cheese

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400°

Prick the squash with a fork, then microwave in 1-minute bursts until it's just soft enough to cut. 

Cut squash lengthwise. 

Scoop out the seeds.

I put the squash in a Pyrex dish lined with tin foil. You can also use a baking sheet with parchment paper.  (Foil or parchment makes cleaning easier, but neither are necessary for the squash to be cooked properly.)

Lightly drizzle olive oil on the inside of the squash. You don't need very much at all. I drizzle some in the bowl part and then use my fingers to spread it around and on the outer edges. Sprinkle with salt if desired. 

For roasting the garlic: I used only a couple of large cloves, but I should've used an entire head of garlic, so my instructions for roasting the garlic do not match the photos exactly.

Cut the stem end (not the flat end) of the head of garlic, but don't peel the garlic. 

Put the garlic on a piece of tin foil and drizzle a little olive oil on it. 

Wrap the foil around the garlic and place on the oven rack or baking sheet alongside the squash halves. It will roast at the same time your squash roasts.

Roast for 40 minutes or more, depending on the size of your squash. It's done when the inside is slightly browned and fork tender, but still a little firm. You don't want it to cook too long or else the texture of your "spaghetti" will end up too mushy. I check mine with a fork. If it comes away easily, it's done.

Let cool for a couple of minutes. Using a fork (and an oven mitt to hold the warm squash), scrape the squash from the shell so it comes out in strands. It should come out very easily. If it doesn't, your squash isn't cooked enough. 

Transfer the strands of squash to a large bowl. 

Take out the head of garlic from the tin foil. It should be soft and lightly browned.

Squeeze the roasted garlic from its skin into the bowl of spaghetti squash. Mash it and mix in with forks. 

Sprinkle a generous amount of parmigiana cheese on. Mix in with forks.

Serve spaghetti squash in bowl and top with more parmigiana cheese. 

For leftovers, heat in a frying pan. 

Enjoy! 

Readers: Do you have a healthy alternative to pasta? 

KORINA MOSS is the author of the Cheese Shop cozy mystery series set in Sonoma Valley, including the Agatha Award winner of the Best First Novel, Cheddar Off Dead and the finalist for Best Contemporary Novel, Case of the Bleus. Her books have been featured in USA Today, PARADE Magazine, Woman’s World Magazine, AARP Magazine, and Writer's Digest. The Cheese Shop Mystery series is available wherever books are sold. To find out more and subscribe to her FREE monthly newsletter, visit her website and follow her on Facebook and Instagram. 

Korina is also a freelance developmental editor specializing in cozy and traditional mysteries. Using her experience writing her award-winning series for a Big 5 publisher, she has the inside track on what editors, agents, and readers are looking for in a cozy mystery.  Whether you're a new writer hoping to be traditionally or independently published, or you're an established writer wanting some guidance with a manuscript, she can help you strengthen your book. You can find more information on her website and contact her at korinamossauthor@gmail.com.