Lemon Caper Spaghetti Squash
1 small spaghetti squash
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup non-hydrogenated vegan margarine
2 tablespoons drained capers
1/4 cup zucchini, diced
1/4 cup red bell pepper, diced
4 tablespoons lemon juice
4 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 cup tomatoes, canned or fresh, chopped
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Cut squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Rub the inside well with the olive oil. Put the squash cut side down on a pan (cookie or pizza, whatever you have) and cover with foil. You don't have to make a tight seal but you don't want it too loose.
2. Bake the squash until the squash is done and can be easily scrapped out with a fork. It took about 30 minutes in my oven. Scrape out the spaghetti strings and put them aside where they'll stay warm.
3. Melt the margarine in a large pan or cast iron pot and add the zucchini, bell pepper and capers, cooking them until they're tender. Stir in the lemon juice, parsley and season with salt and pepper.
4. Taste the sauce to see if it's seasoned properly, then mix in the squash and tomatoes.
I pan fried floured tofu slices to serve with this and it was excellent.
SO HOW'D IT GO?
This looks amazing, I will try it. For those who are struggling with cutting the spaghetti squash, I've got the easiest method ever on my blog, Peaceful Table. The post is simply entitled "Spaghetti Squash."
:) Have made this recipe with several variations-used the zucchini 'sauce' as a Bruschetta and everyone LOVED it! Used the sauce over portabella mushrooms-that went very well also! Several of the people these dishes were served to are not vegetarians and they loved them!
We made this tonight and yes it is easy, but a bit bland. Not that that is a bad thing, it is just a thing. My husband prefers the spaghetti squash/swiss chard recipe here on the site. So nice. But this was eaten by all.
Before I tried this recipe, I had only ever had marinara sauce over spaghetti squash, but i liked this MUCH better! I am saving this recipe to repeat in the future!
I made a version of this tonight and I was pleasantly surprised with the results especially since I generally do not like capers. I made a few changes-added some sauteed onion, used frozen peas instead of zucchini (squash on squash just seemed wrong!), and used fresh basil instead of parsley. This is definitely a unique dish. I really liked it a lot. I bet you could cut down the amount of margarine quite a bit too.
IMO, I was severely dissapointed in this recipe.
So I finally got round to trying this, with butternut squash and it was great, the butternut flavour definitely wasn't too strong for the lemon and capers.
I cooked a whole butternut in the oven first, and probably simmered the whole thing for a bit longer than recommended, but the flavours came out beautifully.
Oh, and to make it feel a bit more like the recipe intended, we served it with some fresh spaghetti :)
Upside: my carnivorous family really enjoyed it
Downside: they told me it would be great stuffed in a chicken! WTF?
Could be just me being backwards - but is a 'spaghetti squash' anything like a butternut? Because I have three of them at home, but don't want to sub in for this recipe if I'm going to end up ruining it! Help?
well, they're both squash.. but when you cook up spaghetti squash the flesh inside becomes all soft and stringy like spaghetti noodles. the flavor is pretty neutral.. the butternut squash has more flavor to it, so im not sure how it would blend with the lemon & capers.. maybe make a half batch? you can use the rest of your squash for fries - those are always good.
Could be just me being backwards - but is a 'spaghetti squash' anything like a butternut? Because I have three of them at home, but don't want to sub in for this recipe if I'm going to end up ruining it! Help?
This was fantastic! We added garlic, leeks, and mushrooms to the mix, but kept everything else the same. My husband and I both cleaned our plates! It was scrumptious, thanks for posting it! ;)b
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