Adventures with spaghetti squash recipe reveal a great dish — and a cutting-edge local resource

I trust Ina Garten and her cookbooks because the recipes, when followed, always work.

Although I’m pretty intimidated by spaghetti squash, I had my eye on the Spaghetti Squash With Garlic and Parmesan recipe from her “Cooking With Jeffrey” cookbook.

These winter squash are really difficult to cut, so when I’ve used them in the past, I’ve stabbed them a couple of times with a fork and put them in the microwave for 10 minutes or in a hot oven for a half-hour or so. They soften up nicely and are easy to cut in half so the seeds can be removed.

Once cooked, the flesh shreds into strands much like al dente spaghetti, thus the name.

But this recipe called for cutting a raw spaghetti squash in half lengthwise and filling the cavities with cider before baking. It sounded like a delicious change of pace to what is otherwise a functional but pretty boring vegetable dish.

Garten even tells how to cut the squash: “Cut off the bottom with a large knife and stand the squash upright,” she writes. “Plunge the tip of the knife into the squash near the stem and cut straight down to the bottom, being careful to keep your fingers out of the way.”

My chef’s knife had just been sharpened, so it should have worked like a charm. But the knife got stuck, and I couldn’t extricate it.

I called for help from my much stronger husband, and he couldn’t nudge it either.

“I’m getting the chainsaw,” he joked. “And getting ready to take you to the ER when you cut yourself.”

So I called my local Heinen’s, where I’d purchased the squash. They told me to come to the store, where their produce department would cut it in half for me and get the knife out.

I bagged up the squash with the knife inside, and soon my problem was solved.

“We do this for customers,” said the affable produce man. “Lots of people have problems cutting up acorn and spaghetti squash. All you have to do is ask.”

After they pulled out my knife, they fashioned a heavy cardboard protector for the blade so I could get everything home safely. The two halves of spaghetti squash were each wrapped in cling wrap, and I was soon on my way.

That’s just an example of why I am a loyal Heinen’s customer.

The recipe turned out to be delicious. And I’ll make it again. But first I’ll have the squash cut in half so I don’t have to bring it back to the store.

 

Recipe

Spaghetti Squash With Garlic and Parmesan

Ingredients

1 spaghetti squash, halved and seeded

High-quality olive oil

¼ cup apple cider

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 teaspoons minced garlic (two cloves)

¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Place spaghetti squash, cut sides up, on a sheet pan and brush entirely with olive oil.

Sprinkle with 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper.

Roast for 50 to 75 minutes until the insides of the squash are very tender and shred easily when raked with a fork. Squash should be the consistency of al dente pasta.

Set aside until cool enough to handle.

Shred as much of the squash as possible into a large bowl. Discard the squash shells.

Heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil and butter in a large saute pan over medium heat until butter starts to sizzle.

Add garlic and cook for one minute then immediately add the shredded squash.

Saute over medium heat, stirring until heated through, about 5 minutes.

Off the heat, stir in the Parmesan, parsley and 2 teaspoons salt and three-fouths teaspoon pepper.

Taste for seasonings and serve hot.

— Adapted from “Cooking for Jeffrey: A Barefoot Contessa Cookbook” by Ina Garten