One of the best things I’ve ever ordered at a restaurant was something I had never had before: spaghetti squash.  I’m always intrigued by vegetarian dishes, and this did not disappoint.  It was a whole half of a large spaghetti squash with sun dried tomato pesto, fresh tomatoes, and pine nuts.  It comes on a bed of rice, a perfect compliment.

My mom mentioned she was attempting to make spaghetti squash for dinner and I was inspired.  I decided to replicate my favorite dish.  On the way home from school I stopped by the grocery store to pick up a spaghetti squash, a little jar of sun dried tomato pesto, and cherry tomatoes.

I didn’t use a recipe, I just consulted a couple recipes on the Food Network website to figure out a good method.  And I decided to nix the pine nuts (I forgot to buy them), and rather than fresh tomatoes I wanted to roast the cherry tomatoes to add to the mix.  I wasn’t in the mood to make rice, so I kept it simple.

Here’s what I did:

1. Preheated my oven to 450.

2. Sliced the squash in half length wise, scooped out the seeds and innards, added salt and pepper on each half, and put them cut side down on a foil lined baking sheet.  Roasted the Squash for 40 minutes.

3. Sliced a handful of cherry tomatoes in half and spread them on another baking sheet with a drizzle of olive oil, plus salt and pepper.  I put them in the oven about 15 minutes after the squash went in.

4.   I removed the tomatoes and the squash from the oven.  Then I flipped the squash over and used a fork to fluff up the “spaghetti” on the inside.

5.  I added a heaping tablespoon of the pesto to each half as well as the cherry tomatoes, then gave it a mix and let the pesto melt in a little.  Salt and pepper to taste, and Voila!

I’m still perfecting my technique because I think I left it in the oven a couple minutes too long, and yet it was still delicious.  It’s not winning any beauty contests, but it was quick, easy, and tasty, give it a try!