Yellow Summer Squash Spaghetti

Yellow Summer Squash Spaghetti

by Holly Hageman

An abundant crop of yellow summer squash is coming in, already, this summer, and a friend shared something at the onset of our bumper crop that has changed the way we do healthy food. I've long been a lover of pasta, however, the discomfort of bloating as well as the high calories made me feel like I wasn't being healthy - despite all of the garlic and onions and fresh tomatoes!

Since discovering the spiralizer, my indulgence in "spaghetti" has become much less caloric and way more nutritious! My friend, who comes twice a week for dinner, had an aversion to summer squash and zucchini. Apparently he'd been afflicted with fried zucchini fritters as a child, and wasn't thrilled in the least to help me plant my squash plants in my earthboxes in the spring. (I have a collection of 10 earthboxes on my back deck with automatic irrigation that make my garden a flourish of activity and healthy vegetables and herbs while I sit back and watch... no weeding or watering required!)

I'm all for easy kitchen equipment and, besides the spiralizer, I use a fine dicer for the onion, garlic, as well as for the stub left behind after spiralizing my squash. (All you do is quarter the onion and press.) My 90 year old grandma gave us ours five or so years ago, and I've been using it just about every time I dice onions ever since!

With a look of agony on his face, my friend took his first bite of this wonderful one-skillet meal. Cured! He went back for seconds and thirds. Can I tell you, that's a MAJOR vote for the success of this recipe... a return "customer" with an un-adventurous stomach?!

I use two medium sized yellow squash or zucchini, a variety of tomato (plum, beefsteak, or cherry). The cherry often have more flavor, the plum have less moisture, and the beefsteak add some juice to make a nice broth.

I'll give you the vegetarian recipe, but you can very easily add grilled chicken breast, or your favorite meat. I've added chicken to the skillet, beef, and my favorite - sausage.

Ingredients:

2 medium yellow summer squash or zucchini, spiralized

1 small onion, diced

2-4 cups of chopped tomatos

2 cloves garlic, diced

1/4-1/2  cup chopped fresh basil (I use a blend of sweet and purple, and I love using loads of fresh herbs)

1/4 cup chopped fresh parlsey

2 Tbsp fresh thyme

2 Tbsp fresh oregano

2 Tbsp olive oil

salt

pepper

shredded parmesan cheese

Saute' onion and garlic in olive oil over low/medium burner until soft. If using raw meats, including sausage, add that to the skillet until browned and cooked through. Add squash, top with tomatoes, fresh herbs, layered just like in the photo above. Don't stir immediately, just cover and let vegetables steam themselves as they create their own juices. After about ten minutes, remove cover and "flip" squash noodles to steam the top ones, now. Depending on how you like your texture, as well as the age of your squash, you can continue to steam about 5 more minutes or more to desired tenderness. Salt and pepper to taste.

There will be quite a bit of broth on the bottom of the skillet depending on type of tomato used. Don't drain this away! It's full of nutrients! I serve the vegetti with a topping of shredded Italian cheese on top, as well as grilled chicken breast. Whatever remains in the skillet makes a fabulous soup or stew leftover, including the broth.