I love roasting whole squashes and then using the crispy caramelized morsels as the base for different dishes. Magnificent in colour and texture, the humble squash is transformed when roasted.
I prefer to keep the skin on as this tends to crispen and add a delicious texture. In this instance I used acorn squash simply because this is what I had in the kitchen, but feel free to swap out for whatever type of squash you like such as the popular Butternut.
INGREDIENTS (Serves 4)
1 medium-sized squash
3 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, grated
small handful of pul biber/chilli flakes
salt
pepper
300g of dried fusilli pasta
1 small head of curly kale, roughly chopped
40g of sundried tomatoes, sliced
small handful of pine nuts, toasted in a dry pan
juice of 1/2 lemon
METHOD
Heat the oven to 180 degrees ready for roasting the squash. Cut the squash into small chunks and remove the seeds, do not remove the skin. Place on a baking tray, drizzle with 2 tbsp of olive oil, rub with the salt, pepper, grated garlic and the chilli. Roast for between 35-40 minutes, until brown, crispy and caramelized. Set aside around 280g of the squash for the dish, refrigerate the rest to use for other tasty meals.
Toast the pine nuts and cook the fusilli in boiling water until al dente.
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet or frying pan over medium heat and add the chopped kale. Cover and cook until kale has wilted, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the sun dried tomatoes, along with the squash, pasta and pine nuts . Continue cooking and stirring until all of the ingredients are well-combined and heated through.
Add sea salt to taste and taste the spaghetti squash for flavor. Drizzle with the lemon juice and the remaining 1 tbsp of olive oil.