Spaghetti Squash w Pesto & Mushrooms
Say this five times fast...
Spaghetti squash with roasted garlic/basil/thyme pesto & sautéed mixed mushrooms!
Holy smokes, I'm proud of this one. I don't make spaghetti squash that often. Almost never, actually. But like why? You can guarantee that I'll be making this recipe alllllll the time, because she is tasty, hunny! And (do I even need to say?), super healthy, vegan, gluten free, whole 30 approved, you name it!
If you follow me on Insta @katiewebbernyc, you know that I am obsessed with roasting garlic. Obsessed I tell you! I roast veggies a lot because it's just too damn easy, and I always throw garlic cloves, fully wrapped in their skins, onto the pan to roast and get all sweet & delicious. Roasted garlic is so good, you can just pop the cloves in your mouth like candy. Now, if you've never done this, you think I'm crazy, but trust me on this one; Roasted garlic is your new bestie. Also, you can take your roasted garlic and incorporate it into almost any recipe. Here, I've roasted the garlic alongside the spaghetti squash, and then used it in the pesto. The result? Pure heaven.
This dish tastes super rich and creamy, and will satisfy your craving for a hearty meal, all while being completely dairy free & vegan. It's a non processed all vegetable dish! This is the goal people!
Here's the deets...
Ingredients
1 spaghetti squash
8 cremini mushrooms
8 shiitake mushrooms
Pesto
2 Cups fresh basil
3 sprigs fresh thyme
4 cloves roasted garlic
1/4 Cup pine nuts (or your favorite nut)
2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
Pesto!
You can use this pesto recipe on anything! Spaghetti squash, pasta, potatoes, you name it!
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut squash in half, lengthwise, and scoop out seeds. Coat squash with olive oil, salt & pepper, and place on baking sheet, cut-side down. Also, throw (at least) 4 cloves of garlic, in their skins, onto the sheet pan, alongside the squash. Roast on middle rack of the oven for 30-35 mins, until squash is tender. *Please note, in my photos, I show the squash cut-side up, but indeed, you need to roast it cut-side down!
Meanwhile, clean mushrooms with a dry cloth, remove stems and slice. Saute mushrooms over medium high heat with a drizzle of olive oil. When mushrooms have softened a bit, add a few dashes of salt. I added a splash of wine I was drinking, but it's not necessary. When mushrooms are tender, remove from heat and set aside.
When squash is tender, remove from oven and let rest.
Prepare pesto. Add ingredients to food processor and blend until incorporated. Make sure to remove garlic wrappers before adding to the food processor.
Drag a fork along squash to fluff and separate strands. Add half the pesto and half the mushrooms to each squash half, and stir to combine all.
Top with pine nuts and breadcrumbs (or nothing at all!).
*Optional breadcrumb topping is one slice sprouted bread, toasted, buttered (with vegan butter), and pulsed in a food processor. Also note, the Ezekiel bread I used is not gluten free or Whole 30 approved.
Makes a hearty meal for 2 :)
Enjoy!
xx,
Katie
