Monday, December 15, 2014

Spaghetti Squash

My quest to try new vegetables continues and here comes this interesting veggie: Spaghetti Squash. Just as the name says, the edible part of this squash is like spaghetti or vermicelli.  The outer skin is quite hard.  It contains seeds which are very similar to that of pumpkin.

This squash is rich in many nutrients including vitamin A, potassium, folic acid and beta carotene. It is low in calories with around 42 calories per 1 cup serving(Source: Wikipedia).

Replace your regular pasta with this spaghetti squash to get a low calorie dish.


Cooking spaghetti squash:
You can cook the spaghetti squash in microwave or conventional oven.

Conventional oven:
If you are doing it in your conventional oven, then preheat the oven to 300 deg F.  Place a parchment paper in baking tray and add 1/4 cup of water. Cut the squash into two and place it in baking tray with the cut side facing down. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hr depending on the size of your squash.
Conventional oven method is time consuming.

Microwave method:
A quick and easy way is using microwave oven.
Pierce a knife through the squash at multiple location for the steam to escape from inside of your squash. This step is important and must not be skipped to avoid any danger of your squash exploding inside your microwave. Microwave on high power for 6-10 minutes. The outer skin should be soft, that's when it is ready to take out from microwave oven.

Allow the squash to cool down and cut into half.  Remove the seeds using a spoon. Scoop out the flesh using a fork. This spaghetti is now ready to go into your pasta dish.

Spaghetti Squash cooked in microwave oven

Removing the flesh using a fork
Spaghetti Squash ready to go into your favorite pasta

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