Spaghetti Squash + Roasted Tomato & Mozzarella

I've been on the hunt for great recipes using tomatoes. After all, it's summer, right? I've had a tendency in the past to buy boxes of cherry tomatoes, only to forget about them, finding them wrinkly and moldy (gross) in the back of the fridge weeks later. Not this time. 

I'm settling comfortably into fellowship and really starting to get into the groove of things. My husband is on a somewhat less friendly schedule, in the surgical intensive care unit. It's funny how easily we have gotten used to him not having to take in-house, overnight calls (thanks to a night hospitalist team). Now, he has to take in-house call once a week for this month - and it's like, say whaaa???

Despite the fact that my fellowship hours are very lifestyle friendly, the summer heat is making me sluggish...and less apt to turn on the oven. So when I came across this recipe calling for roasting tomatoes at 400F for 20 minutes, my first thought was "no way - I'm going to broil these in half the time". It worked. Yes, I know - broiling on low heat is also 400F, but I'm impatient. And in the dead of July, just the thought of cooking by convection is painful. Plus, I hate having to wait for the oven to beep when it's done preheating. I know it's not right, but sometimes I just shove everything in there before it's officially preheated. Ok, you get my drift.

I like this recipe because although it requires a few steps, you don't have to do them all at once. I accomplished this by roasting the squash one night (along with some sweet potatoes). That night, I shredded the squash and kept it in the fridge. The next day after work, I quickly broiled the tomatoes, threw everything together, and had a delicious, healthy bowl of veggies ready for dinner. Even my husband (who often protests "too many veggies!!!") liked this one. I already knew he was keen on spaghetti squash, so with the addition of some pizza-esque flavors (tomatoes, basil, mozzarella), failure was almost impossible. In fact, I'm pretty sure if I put tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella on...I don't know, say - a piece of celery, he would somehow find it delicious. 

I also like this recipe, because I'm fairly certain my Dad would love it too (right Dad?). I definitely inherited my food preferences from him, because we share a strong preference for healthy fruits and vegetables, especially starchy ones (sweet potatoes, and his all time favorite: kabocha squash). That, and a love of all things sweet - especially carrot cake.

Back to the healthy stuff:

Spaghetti Squash + Roasted Tomato & Mozzarella 
Adapted from Midwest Living

Makes approximately 2 cups & serves 2 (you will have plenty of leftover squash)


Ingredients:

One 2 lb spaghetti squash, halved and seeded

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

Salted butter, approx 1 tbsp

1 pint cherry tomatoes

Oregano

One 8 oz container of cherry sized mozzarella balls

Handful of basil leaves, roughly chopped

Pecorino romano (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Brush squash halves with olive oil, and roast for 30-40 minutes until tender. Remove from oven, cool, and shred squash

2. While squash cooks, brush cherry tomatoes with olive oil and season with salt, pepper, and oregano. If completing this the same day as the squash, you can simply bake the tomatoes for 20 minutes alongside the squash. If on a different day, set broiler on low and broil for 10 minutes until tomato skins are just starting to split

3. Remove tomatoes from under the broiler; gently press down on tomatoes to release their juices (careful, they will squirt)

4. Mix 2 cups of spaghetti squash (reheat if necessary) with 1 tbsp butter. Then toss in tomatoes and mozzarella (top with as few or as many mozzarella balls as you like. Since they come refrigerated, you may need to heat them up slightly before you add them to your dish).

5. Season with more oregano, salt, and pepper to taste. Top with chopped basil leaves, a dusting of pecorino cheese (optional), and serve

You will have several cups of leftover shredded spaghetti squash - I enjoyed mine the next day with some butter, herbs, edamame, and pecorino (ran out of tomatoes, but was still delicious).

Thanks for stopping by. Hope you enjoy this easy, beautiful squash recipe! Let me know how it turns out for you.

-R

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