Spaghetti Squash Tomato Toss (Recipe)

Ingredients

1 3 1/2-pound spaghetti squash

1 medium onion, coarsely chopped

1 tablespoon olive oil

5 medium tomatoes, peeled, seeded and coarsely chopped

1/2 cup snipped fresh basil

1/4 cup snipped parsley

2 cloves garlic minced

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

3 medium zucchini, sliced in 1/4-inch pieces

Parmesan cheese or parsley sprigs

Steps

1.  Preheat the oven to 350°.

2.  Using the tip of a sharp knife or the tines of a fork, pierce the squash in several places.  Place in a 13x9x2-inch baking pan.  Bake in the 350° oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes.

3.  Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook the onion in the olive oil until tender.  Add the tomatoes, basil, parsley, garlic, salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil.  Add the zucchini and cook, covered, for 3 minutes.  Uncover and cook for 8 to 10 minutes more or until the zucchini is crisp-tender.  Keep warm.

4.  Carefully slice the squash in half.  Remove the seeds and discard.  Use a fork to shred the squash into ling strands into a bowl.  Pour the sauce over the spaghetti squash; toss.  Garnish with Parmesan cheese or parsley sprigs.  Serve immediately.

Tips:

Spaghetti squash is a bright yellow, football-shaped vegetable with pale yellow, stringy flesh that resembles spaghetti when cooked.  It has a mildly sweet flavor.

It's easier to "shred" the spaghetti squash if you use a hot pad to hold the halved squash at an angle.  Use a fork to rake the stringy pulp from the shell into the bowl.

Store olive oil at room temperature up to 6 months, or in the refrigerator up to 1 year.  When olive oil is chilled, it gets too thick to pour, so let it stand at room temperature for a few minutes or run warm water over the bottle before using.

From : America's Best-Loved Community Recipes