Spaghetti Squash Tossed Salad Recipe

Autumn brings an amazing assortment of tasty squashes to your grocery store or farmer’s market. Spaghetti squash is named for its unique texture. When cooked properly the flesh will loosen from its skin in strings resembling spaghetti. Baking it for 45 minutes in a 375 degree oven preserves its nutty, squashy flavor and makes your kitchen smell wonderful.

This delicious salad features squash and garbanzo beans tossed and coated in a bright lemony vinaigrette. Roasted pecans, green onion, parsley, and feta cheese garnish and complement. Because this squash dish is meant to be served at room temperature, it can be prepared a few hours early, covered with plastic wrap, and allowed to sit out until it’s time to eat.

Spaghetti Squash Tossed Salad Recipe Instructions

Spaghetti Squash Salad Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 pound spaghetti squash, halved and seeded
• 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
• Juice of one lemon
• 5 teaspoons Chardonnay wine
• 1 (15 oz) can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 cup crumbled Feta cheese
• 1/2 cup coarsely ground fresh Italian parsley
• 2 tablespoons roasted pecan pieces (roast in a 300° oven for 20 minutes
• 1 green onion sliced thinly on the bias

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Spray a donut baking pan with cooking spray and set aside.
3. In a medium mixing bowl or batter bowl, add the flours, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
4. Mix until fluffy with a whisk.
5. Add the milk, eggs, food coloring and olive oil and mix until just combined.
6. Carefully pour into prepared baking pan.
7. Bake for 9-12 minutes, or until the tops are no longer tacky.
8. Turn out onto a wire rack and cool.

For Icing

1. Choose a firm light yellow squash from your supermarket. Slice it in half lengthwise with a sturdy knife. Use your muscles because these uncooked squash can be tough to cut through. Once the squash is in two pieces, scoop out the seeds and middle tendrils. You can save the seeds to be roasted similarly to pumpkin seeds.
2. With the oven rack in the middle position of a 350 degree oven, lay the squash with its inside facing down on a cookie sheet after brushing the cut sides with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast the squash until it is tender, about 45 minutes. If you pierce the flesh with a paring knife, the knife surface should come out clean. Remove the squash from the oven and cool, cut side up, for at least an hour.
3. Combine the lemon zest, juice, wine, ¼ cup olive oil, and ½ teaspoon each of salt and pepper in a large Zak confetti salad bowl. Hold the squash over the salad bowl. Gently pull the flesh in strands from the skin using a fork.
4. Add the garbanzo beans to the bowl and toss carefully to coat with the lemon vinaigrette mixture. Scatter feta, green onions, parsley, and pecans over the top. Finish by drizzling the salad with olive oil before serving.