Not the prettiest of pictures - but hey. I was hungry! You get the idea ;-)
I do love pasta! But once upon a time, I probably had it a bit too often and tended to spike the pan with a hell of a lot of high calorie additions – chorizo, bacon, blue cheese, cream, fetta cheese. parmesan cheese, olive oil, semi-dried tomatoes (in olive oil) – you name it, it was in there. See one of my historical pics below Circa 2012.
Fettuccine with the lot - super rich and indulgent. Sure it was delicious, but I would eat too much, too often of this type of food.
In my quest to retain access to some of the flavours you get in an indulgent pasta dish, but not at the expense of my hips, I have sought some modifications that lighten up the calorie load, A LOT!
One of my dear friends, a lovely lady in Canada named Kim, introduced me to spaghetti squash back in 2016 during a trip there. I was pretty impressed by this close relative of pumpkin and its uncanny trait of forming strings when cooked. A perfect alternative to pasta! And coming in at around 40 calories per 100g (as opposed to the 350 odd you get from conventional spaghetti) it is a fabulous way to add in a heap of fibre and nutrients to your diet without the carb and calorie load. Winning!!
Okay, okay, it isn’t exactly like normal spaghetti. And I do still treat myself to normal pasta a few times a year. But now I can get this in Australia when it is in season, I am pretty addicted to it. Fortunately, the one I used to make the meal in this recipe was actually given to me by a friend in the Perth Hills that grew it herself! Double Win!!! Paired with a bunch of basil I grew in pots myself, it really was an amazing booty of home-grown goodness. YUMMO! It was also vegan until I decided to have a little bit of indulgence with some reduced fat cheddar grated on top. But honestly, nutritional yeast would make a nice plant-based alternative. Seriously, I love veggies! I can’t even tell you how much. I couldn’t wait to share this one with you. Go out and find this amazing vegetable, and let the experimenting begin!
Pesto Inspired Not-spaghetti
Serves 2 – I hazard a guess at around 400 calories per serve. But honestly, this is only an estimate and depends entirely on how much olive oil and cheese you add during prep.
Ingredients
1 medium spaghetti squash
1 tbls olive oil – I used chilli infused
2 shallots, sliced
2 garlic cloves, chopped finely
120mL coconut milk – the small little tins are a good amount. An alternative to dairy cream.
Big handful of grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
Big handful of basil leaves, washed
Salt and pepper
Optional extras: grated cheese or nutritional yeast, chilli, extra garlic.
Get cooking!
1. Prepare the spaghetti squash by cutting it in half, removing the seeds and steaming in the microwave for approx. 8 mins. I put it in a big plastic container and put a lid loosely on top. Add about 2 tbls of water to the container and put the two halves in face down. I go on to the rest of the prep while it is cooking. The flesh can be shredded with two forks once you are ready to start cooking the rest.
2. Put the coconut milk and basil in a small food processor and give it a whiz.
3. Have everything ready to go before you start with the pan cooking phase.
4. Add olive oil to a big pan, then add shallots and garlic. Saute for a minute.
5. Add spaghetti squash. I let it just sit there for a minute to cook off some of the moisture. Be gentle. Avoid smashing it around in the pan as it is a bit fragile.
6. Gently stir in the coconut basil mixture. Then the tomatoes. Gently push it around the pan until the bubbly goodness is fragrant and the tomatoes are a little softer. Not mushy though!
7. Season with plenty of pepper and as much salt as you feel you need – I sweat a heck of a lot with my exercise so I tend to be pretty liberal.
8. Grate over some cheese if you wish.
9. SMASH IT!!!
10. Your welcome :-)