As an Italian woman, pasta, bread and carbs in general are a constant craving. While the meal itself tastes great, I’m usually left feeling overly full, bloated and uncomfortable. One may think that a simple solution to this is not eating every last morsel on my plate. Ha, like that would ever happen! Rather than give in to cravings, vegetable pasta is a delish alternative. If you haven’t tried it yet, you’re officially late to the party.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves minced garlic
Pinch of crushed red pepper
1 spaghetti squash
1 zucchini
2 Roma tomatoes
¼ cup diced white onion
1 cup spinach
1 Italian sausage (optional if you’d prefer to have a vegetable based dish)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Cut spaghetti squash in half. Seriously, be careful doing this because this bad boy has a thick skin.
3. Roast spaghetti squash in the oven for 25 minutes, or until flesh is soft when pierced with a fork.
4. Remove the squash from oven and let cool for 15 minutes. Caution, it will still be hot, hot, hot. Once cool enough to handle, take a fork and drag the prongs the length of the inside of each half to create pasta like strands. Place in a bowl and set aside.
5. Julienne zucchini lengthwise, making the strands as thin as you can. Place in a separate bowl and set aside.
6. Sauté garlic, tomatoes, and onions in the olive oil until soft.
7. Add zucchini, and continue sautéing until tender. Keep an eye on this – it probably won’t take very long.
8. Add spinach and toss until the leaves have wilted.
9. If your spaghetti squash has cooled, you can throw it in the sauté pan to warm. Otherwise, toss together the zucchini and other ingredients into and with the spaghetti squash.
10. If using, cook your protein (in this case Italian sausage) according to package/butcher instructions. Cut into ½ inch coins.
11. Toss vegetables and protein together, drizzle with a splash of EVOO and crushed red pepper, and enjoy.

As our dear friend Ina would say, “How easy is that?”

Images via Arugula Files and American Profile.