Squash were on sale today, and it sounded good to me, so I picked one up with an eye to making it into a meal. I got home and then realized I had no idea how to cook it. Any Dopers want to share a favorite recipe?
I like to eat them for lunch. Here’s what I do:
Whack the squash in half. Save one half in the fridge. Whack the other half into thirds or quarters (scrape out the seeds first).
Put the quartered squash into a pot with about an inch of water in it. You can fit it in there by standing the pieces up on end and fitting them back together, leaving space between the pieces.
Steam the squash for 20 minutes or so, until an inserted fork meets cooked softness instead of uncooked hard squash.
Scrape the squash from the rind, mash it up with butter, salt, pepper, and romano cheese, and enjoy!
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Boil it thoroughly.
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Scoop out the contents with a fork, in spaghetti like strands.
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Cover with your favourite pasta sauce.
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Throw the whole disgusting mess in the garbage, and call out for real pasta.
Bake it for an hour at 375, or microwave it, cut in half and covered, for about 10 minutes. Then pull out the strands with a fork. Don’t expect it to be as tender as actually spaghetti–it will still have a bit of bite to it.
I don’t like it with tomato-based sauces, but it’s not bad with creamy/oily sauces. Try pesto, or a creamy mushroom sauce. Parmesan cheese is good, too.
Deeply pierce whole squash with a sharp knife in several places. Put the squash in a shallow baking pan and bake at 375 for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until squash yields to gentle pressure. Turn the squash over halfway through baking time.
Cut baked squash in half, lengthwise. Scoop out seeds and fibres. Pull apart the strands with a fork and put them in a large bowl. Add 1 cup grated gruyere cheese, a bit of chopped fresh parsley if you wish, 2 Tbsp butter, 1 chopped up garlic clove, salt and pepper to taste, and toss like you would spaghetti.
Serve as is or topped with spaghetti sauce.
Experiment with other kinds of cheese. I’ve also used gouda.
Pierce the skin of the squash in several places with a knife. Put it in the microwave on a couple of paper towels. Microwave on high for 10 minutes, turning the squash once or twice to ensure even cooking. Let the squash rest for about 5 minutes until it is cool enough to handle.
In a large skillet, saute a couple of cloves of minced garlic in three tablespoons of butter (or olive oil, if you prefer.)
Cut the squash open and use a fork to separate the meat into strands and add it into the hot skillet. Toss the squash with the garlic and butter and fry until the squash starts getting brown here and there.
drools
While the other Dopers are giving excellent advice on how to cook the squash itself, this suggestin has my vote.
We prefer to boil it, but we like to eat it with butter and black pepper - no strange sauces required. I even grew them once, but they’re so easy to get it’s not worth the trouble.
They are quite good, if you give them a chance.
Boil, Microwave, Broil, whatever it takes to get it hot and stringy crunchy…
Then add butter and cinnamon…yum.
I just had this the other night. A recipe from Emeril Live I think
Cut it in half lengthwise, scoop out seeds. Bake cut side down until fork tender.
Let cool and then scoop out the guts with a fork.
Saute 2 tbsp of shallots in 4 tbsp of butter. Add 1/4 tsp cinnamon and a pinch of nutmeg. Add Squash and mix it all up. It’s delicious.
We had it with pork tenderloin and baked pears. Way yummy.
First make Alla Checca, omit the pasta from this recipe.
Cut squash in half, scoop seeds, bake at 375 for 45 minutes, use a fork to pull out the yummy strands… use this in place of the pasta in above recipe. Add some cubed, cooked chicken for variety. And try adding some cubed cheese, too, most any kind will do.
6th? Vote for baked after split lengthwise
375 on a cookie sheet…most importantly:
With BUTTER and MAPLE SYRUP.
There, I’ve said it. Odd thing is, the only thing I like syrup on is spaghetti squash.