Spaghetti Squash with Turkey Meat Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1 lb Lean Ground Turkey
• 1 can Whole Peeled Tomatoes, 28 oz (1)
• 1 Spaghetti Squash
• 5 Cloves Garlic, minced
• 1 Large Onion, chopped
• 1 tbsp Dry Oregano
• 1 tbsp Dry Basil
• 1 tbsp Dry Parsley
• 1/2 tbsp Onion Powder
• Red Pepper Flake
• Fresh Basil
• Parmigiano Reggiano

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400*.
2. Cut the squash in half. Removed seeds and interior stuff like you would from a pumpkin. Lightly oil the the bottom of a cookie sheet and place the halves down on the sheet.
3. Place in oven and cook ~20-30 minutes, until you can easily scoop out the squash from the skin. (2) Remove interior spaghetti squash, flake into strands, season with salt and pepper, and set aside. Drop oven to 275*.
4. While squash is cooking, mince garlic and chop onion. Puree tomatoes if you’d like a smoother sauce.
5. Over med heat, oil a large saucier, a dutch oven, or pot. (3) Add onions then season with salt and pepper. Sauté for 8-10 minutes until they’re soft and beginning to turn lightly golden brown.
6. Open up a hole in the middle of the pan and add garlic and a pinch of red pepper flake. (4) Cook for 1 minute until garlic is fragrant.
7. Add ground turkey, season with salt and pepper, and cook until just fully cooked through. Smash the turkey into pieces as large or small as you’d like here.
8. Once turkey is cooked, add tomatoes and dry seasonings. Season again with salt and pepper as the tomatoes need to be seasoned, and tomatoes take on a lot more salt than you expect.
9. Bring to a boil, cover, and place into oven to cook for 2 hours. After one hour mix the sauce and scrape the sides of the pot to get all the browned bits into the sauce.
10. Add squash, mix together, cover, and put back into the oven for 1-2 hours. (5)
11. Serve with grated parm, basil, and a drizzle of fresh olive oil.

Notes:

1. You can use a can of your favorite jar pasta sauce too. I like Prego and do this dish with that. If you are, those are seasoned, so omit the oregano, basil, parsley, and onion powder.
2. We aren’t cooking it to completion here, just hot enough to scoop out and to pull apart. The squash will cook more later with the sauce.
3. I use a smaller Le Creuset Dutch Oven for this one. You need to use something that will be able to hold the volume of the full sauce with the mixed in squash, and something that is oven safe.
4. Add as much red pepper as you like for heat.
5. This part is important because it fully cooks the squash, but more importantly allows the squash to soak up some of the sauce flavor. If you just mix the squash with the sauce and plate, it will be a little too much like two separate entities. This process is vital to me, and if you have the time for two hours I highly recommend it.

© 2020