Pasta By Any Other Name.......Isn't Pasta

OK, so I read somewhere that if one is trying to cut carbs that spaghetti squash is a perfect substitution for pasta.  Firstly, why anyone would want to cut carbs is beyond me, hence why I am starting to look more like Jaba the Hut every day.  And secondly as an Italian, I have a real problem with the notion of substituting perfectly delicious spaghetti for......not spaghetti.  So therefore, in my universe there is no "substitution" for pasta.  Pasta is pasta and spaghetti squash is, well, a vegetable.  But, this ridiculousness did inspire this post, and I do so happen to have a s*!@ load of spaghetti squash from my own little urban garden (garden is an over statement, but I felt like feeding my ego). 

And let's face it, spaghetti squash may not be pasta, but it is delicious in its own right!  So, to give spaghetti squash its due love, here's a quick little recipe involving this tasty goody.  Oh, and a shout out to all you vegetarians, I don't do it much, but here's one for ya!

Spaghetti Squash with Tomatoes and Basil

1 large spaghetti squash halved and seeds removed

1 large sweet onion, chopped

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tablespoon olive oil

3 tablespoons butter (yummm)

1 28oz can diced tomatoes

1 tablespoon mascarpone or heavy cream

3 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped

1 tablespoon fresh oregano, chopped

1 teaspoon salt (I prefer kosher)

1/2 teaspoon pepper

Parmesan Cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Place squash rind side up in a glass baking dish and add a small amount of water to the pan.  Place the squash in the oven and bake until tender, about 30 minutes.  Meanwhile in a heavy skillet on medium high heat add the olive oil and 2 tablespoons of the butter.  Melt the butter and add the chopped onion and garlic.  Cook the onion and garlic until tender, about 5 minutes, then add the diced tomatoes.  Cook the tomatoes, onion and garlic until the sauce starts to thicken, about 3-5 minutes.  Add the mascarpone, and fresh herbs, cook for about an additional 3 minutes.  Add the salt and pepper and set aside.  Once the squash is tender scrape the flesh out of the rind into a colander.  Now, I found that the squash does release a fair bit of liquid after being cooked, which you don't want to ruin your perfectly delicious sauce with all that water, so allowing it to drain for about 5 minutes will prevent this devastating event from occurring!  After allowing the squash to drain, put it into a serving bowl and toss with the remaining tablespoon butter and salt and pepper to taste.  Poor the reserved sauce over the squash and top with a little freshly grated parmesan cheese and dinner is served. 

Now I know, I have once again, presented a recipe dripping in butter and mascarpone, but the reality is that tomatoes and butter were meant for each other, and separating them is really a form of cruel and unusual punishment.  So, I will try in the future to think of something that lacks butter (why would I do this?) so my health conscience readers will be satisfied (who am I kidding, no one is reading this f*#$%&*@ blog anyway).  Anyway, it might do me some good, I am expanding in my chair as I write this thing..............