Beautiful Box o' Squash
We gardened extensively when I was a child because I couldn’t eat processed foods due to mold allergies (lucky me, truly). And my mom went on a wild and wacky journey, experimenting with all kinds of nearly-forgotten vegetables. Funny thing that the ones that she adored and I hated then are the ones I adore now! We truly do become our parents, in more than just the usual can’t-believe-I-just-said-that way.
Most squash have stringy interiors near the seeds; but in spaghetti squash, the whole interior is stringy. But unlike most other varieties, the strands are tasty and tender after cooking. You can use it nearly anywhere you’d use pasta, which is a boon to those of us with metabolic disorder or celiac disease, or gluten/wheat allergies. It has a glycemic index of 2 and is very low in both carbs and calories.
There are several ways to deal with spaghetti squash: you can cook it whole or in parts (use a meat cleaver or thick-bladed knife to cut it for safety’s sake); you can steam it, boil it, or bake it. Cutting it into sections before cooking reduces cooking time but increases the chances of the knife slipping (thus I use a meat cleaver); cooking it whole means no knife, but you could also get a steam burn cutting it open unless you let it cool a bit first. You can even use a slow cooker–several hours on low with some water, which is a good option if the rest of the meal is going to occupy most of the stove and oven.
Squash originated in Central America eons ago. If you’ve ever glanced through a seed catalog such as Johnny’s Selected Seeds, Territorial Seeds or Seed Savers Exchange, which carry heirloom varieties, you’ll be blown away at the amazing variety of squash and gourd varieties.
Spaghetti squash was developed in Manchuria in the 1890′s. It was picked up by the Sakata Seed Company in Japan in 1934, just a few years before the influx of American GIs. So in Asia, it’s often called Shark Fin Squash for its resemblance to the solids in shark fin soup. In almost every European language, the word “spaghetti” is attached to it, whether translated or not.
The original variety is ivory to pale yellow in color. Burpee introduced it in 1942, although some California gardeners already had it in the 30′s. People did grow it during WWII in America, but kind of forgot about it once rationing ended. The Sakata Company reintroduced it in 1962; the Frieda Company, also founded that year, started pushing it. People finally started taking widespread notice in the English-speaking world in the 70′s, which was when my mom, an early adopter, planted it. The bright yellow-orange kind typically seen in markets today was bred in the 80′s in Israel, and is now more popular than the ivory kind. We like bright things. And it’s also higher in beta carotene.
Spaghetti squash can be used as a base for the usual pasta sauces; but you can get creative, too. It’s in season right now, and I’ve just used it for the first time in this week’s menu for Pizza Steaks. You’ll be seeing more of it as an option here, as well as Shiritake Noodles, another great substitute for pasta that does not involve grain and is very low glycemic and in carbs. But that’s for another post.
