Lasagna Stuffed Spaghetti Squash
Why I Love This Recipe
From the Sauce du Jour Kitchen
For the Winter Squash Cooking Class - 108
The wonderful flavors of lasagna in a low fat spaghetti squash. Disclaimer here....this really can't be called low-fat because we used some great cheeses and sausage in the recipe. But....you can simplify and lighten up this recipe by using a store bought marina, ground turkey and low fat or fat free cheeses. You can...but why would you?
Ingredients You'll Need
1 cup wine — for the cook
2 small Spaghetti squash
1 Tablespoon Olive oil
1 pound sweet Italian Sausage
1 small onion, finely diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed
1 – 15 oz. can of petite diced tomatoes w/juice
3 Tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons dried basil
1 Bay leaf
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Salt and Pepper to taste
2 cups mozzarella, shredded
1 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
2 Tablespoons fresh basil - divided
(Photo: arismenu.com)
Directions
Preheat oven to 375 and bake squash until tender, about 60 minutes.
(Or half the squash, brush with olive oil and salt and bake about 30 minutes, or until tender)
Meanwhile cook the sausage until browned. Remove from pan, Set aside. Heat the oil in the same pan. Over medium heat cook the onion until tender (4-5 minutes). Add the garlic, red pepper, and fennel and cook until fragrant, about a minute.
Put the sausage back in the pan and add the tomatoes, tomato paste, oregano, basil, bay leaf, sugar, balsamic, and salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until flavors combine. Add a little water or chicken broth if sauce gets to thick Discard bay leaf before stuffing squash.
While the sauce is simmering combine the ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan, and 1 Tablespoon of chopped basil.
When the squash is tender, cut it in half (if you cooked it whole). Use a fork to fluff up the squash then put 1/4 of the cheese mixture in each squash, followed by half of the meat mixture, then the remaining cheese mixture.
Pop under the broiler until the Mozzarella is melted and turning golden brown. Garnish with the remaining basil, chiffonade.
(Substitute your favorite marinara sauce if you don’t want to make the homemade sauce. For a low-fat version you can substitute ground turkey and low-fat or fat free cheeses. You could…….but why would you?)
