Friday: Spaghetti Squash Boats with Homemade Marinara Sauce

Pin It Now! Well, we've made it to the end of the week...and my freezer is no longer bursting at the seams.  By, now; however, I'm out of frozen meat to cook.  What a perfect night for a vegetarian meal.  I saw this on an episode of Diners, Drive-In's, and Dives.  I quickly hit record and then played it back to get all the steps and ingredients. I've cooked with spaghetti squash before and loved it...my girls too.  This takes a bit of time (cutting veggies, simmering sauce), but they outcome will be worth it, plus you get a dish chock full of veggies.  :)  
You could also prepare the sauce ahead of time and have it ready to go when you put together the filling. 
It's an amazingly delicious dish, full of flavor and healthy veggies.  Can't wait to make this again!

Spaghetti Squash Boats with Homemade Marinara Sauce


1 whole squash will feed 4 people (the suggested serving on the show is one halve per person, but we're going to scale that back and share a halve between two people)


Ingredients:
Sauce: 
1/3 cup olive oil
2 medium onions chopped
1 head garlic roughly chopped
Salt/Pepper
3 cans crushed San Marzano tomatoes (28oz each)
1/3 cup grated Parm cheese
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, torn
1/4 cup Chianti red wine


Filling:
1 large spaghetti squash (cut in half length-wise)
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup chopped shallots
1/4 cup chopped garlic
1/3 cup chopped red onion
1 large carrot, chopped (think large dice)
1 rib celery, chopped
1 small to medium red pepper, chopped
1 small yellow squash, chopped
1 small zucchini, chopped
Handful of raw broccoli florets
1/2 cup asparagus, chopped
salt/pepper
Fresh Tarragon leaves
Fresh Mozzarella, cut into 4 thick slices

 love me some colorful veggies!  

Directions:
Sauce:
In a large stock pot or dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add onion and garlic and lightly brown.  Season with salt and pepper.  
Next, add the tomatoes.  Cover and simmer for one hour.
Add the Parm cheese, basil and wine and cover simmer on low for another 2 hours.


Squash and Filling:
Pre-heat oven to 350


Bring a large pot of water to boiling over high heat.  Place the squash in the boiling water for 10-15 minutes.
Scoop out the seeds and then using a fork, scrape at the flesh of the squash to create the spaghetti-like strands and set aside.  Cut the stem from the shell of the squash, discard the stem and set the shells aside for later.

In a large skillet, heat olive oil over med-high heat.  Add shallots, garlic, red onion, carrots, celery and red pepper.  Saute for 5 min or till just tender, stirring often.
Add yellow squash, zucchini, broccoli and asparagus...season with salt and pepper.  Give a quick stir.

Next, add 3/4 cup of the prepared Marinara sauce.  Toss to coat the veggies.  Season again with salt and pepper.  Toss in the reserved spaghetti squash strands and stir to combine.  Then set the mixture aside to cool slightly.

Once it's cooled a bit, throw in about a 1/4 cup (or less depending on your taste) of the fresh tarragon leaves and another 1/2 cup of the Marinara.  


Starting with one shell, fill with half the veggie mixture and top with two thick slices of the fresh mozzarella.  Repeat with the second shell.  Place onto a baking sheet and place into the oven for 20 minutes or until the cheese is nice and bubbly and a little browned.
Remove from oven and top with 1 cup of Marinara per shell.

Dig in and enjoy!!!  :)

In order to share the boats, I scooped out the yummy goodness into bowls.