August - Spaghetti Squash & Chard

I was REALLY hungry the other night. It just seemed like a non-stop day from my morning workout, right up until it was time to figure out what was for dinner. Even though I wanted a hearty meal I didn’t want it to be too heavy or unhealthy. Then I remembered the awesome spaghetti squash I had just gotten from the farm and…BINGO. Using that along with the rainbow chard and just a few other things already in my pantry, I made this delicious dish.

Ingredients:

• 1 spaghetti squash

• 1/3 cup + 1 tbsp olive oil

• kosher salt & pepper to taste

• 6-8 cloves Garlic (thinly sliced)

• 1 bunch Rainbow Chard

• 1/2 cup Fresh Parsley (chopped)

• 1/2-1 tsp Crushed Red Pepper Flakes

• 1 cup Parmesan Cheese (grated)

Optional Ingredients:

• 8 oz White Mushrooms (cleaned & sliced)

• 4 oz Diced Pancetta

Rainbow Chard from Grow Eco

Spaghetti Squash from Grow Eco

*Remove the seeds from your squash, but keep those for later because I’ll share how to quickly bake those off for a simple snack.

Method:

• Preheat your oven to 400F

• Cut the squash in half, remove seeds*, brush the flesh sides of the squash with olive oil and sprinkle with salt & pepper. Be generous with the seasoning.

• When your oven is up to temp place the squash cut sides down on a non-stick cookie sheet. Cook for about 30-45 mins or just until they are tender enough to remove their flesh with a fork. Note: if you want to maintain the longer pasta like strands of squash then keep an eye not over cook them. The more tender they get the strands naturally flake into smaller pieces.

• While you are waiting for the squash to cool a bit so it’s easier to handle, you can start with the rest of the dish. In a large skillet on the stove heat the rest of the olive oil, garlic, and crushed red pepper over medium heat.

• Cook that for a few mins until the garlic is starting to caramelize and becomes fragrant. Be sure to stir often so it doesn’t burn.

• Now add your rainbow chard to the hot skillet (it should be cleaned, large center veins cut out, and torn or chopped into large pieces). Season it with salt & pepper to taste.

• Your squash should have cooled enough now so that you can scrape out its insides. Do that into a large bowl and then toss it with the oil, garlic and chard you just cooked down.

• Add the majority of your Parmesan cheese and parsley to the bowl next and give it all another good toss.

• Check your seasoning levels and tweak as you like

• All that is left to do now is to plate up and you can top with the remaining cheese and herbs for a nice presentation

If you want to add a protein to this dish it will go great with things like grilled chicken or shrimp.

However, since I was trying to use items I already had on hand I went ahead and added some pancetta and sauteed mushrooms. Keep reading for how I incorporated those “optional ingredients” into our dinner.

• Heat a clean non-stick skillet over medium heat with nothing else besides the cubed/diced pancetta

• Cook that down until the fat is rendered and the ham is slightly crispy outside but still meaty inside.

• Now add your clean sliced mushrooms directly to that pan and give a good stir. They will cook in and soak up all of the fat from the pancetta and be delicious.

• They should be tender after about 5 mins or so of cooking.

• Top the main dish with a spoonful of the crispy pancetta and mushrooms and enjoy while hot.

OPTIONAL: I added some sauteed mushrooms & pancetta I needed to use