Spaghetti Squash Aglio e Olio

I don’t have a sweet tooth, I can eschew cookies, cake and candy with minimal effort. I’m more of a savory carb person: Rice, pasta, bread, potatoes etc. Pasta isn’t usually my go-to carb, normally, it’s bread and potatoes which are my main carb craving, my carb desire, my carb Achillies heel.

However, Spaghetti Aglio e Olio (garlic and olive oil) would be my #1 favorite pasta indulgence. I even finagled a recipe which took 20 minutes total from dry spaghetti to finished garlicky aglio e olio wonderfulness. It just takes a skillet large enough to hold dry spaghetti. It’s really an amazing way to cook it. No more waiting 30 minutes for your huge pasta pot of water to boil.

But I digress.

I love spaghetti squash as a lower-carb substitute for the pasta, and it really works well in this recipe.

Ingredients:

• Cooked spaghetti squash
• 1 T butter
• 2 T olive oil
• 2 large cloves garlic, minced
• granulated garlic
• red pepper flakes
• grated parm from a can
• fresh shredded parm or romano
• salt
• pepper
• chopped parsley

Directions:

1. Heat butter and olive oil over medium heat.
2. Add the minced garlic and cook until the garlic becomes fragrant, but not browned.
3. Add red pepper flakes, granulated garlic, stirring to incorporate.
4. Toss in the cooked spaghetti squash, stir to coat, turn up the heat, sprinkle some grated parm over, season with salt and pepper, stir through.
5. Serve, topped with fresh shredded cheese and chopped parsley.

Notes:

• Cooking spaghetti squash couldn’t be easier:
  • Preheat oven to 400 F
  • Cut squash in half and scoop out the seeds and stringy fibers.
  • Place cut side down in a roasting pan and add 1 inch of water.
  • Bake uncovered for 45 min to an hour until the flesh separates easily into strands when pulled with a fork.
• You can easily add in cubed cooked chicken for some protein.
• A chiffonade of fresh basil added to the parsley is also nice.