Cajun Pasta Fresca

Cajun Pasta Fresca (slightly adapted from AllRecipes, Total Time: 25 minutes, Servings: 4)

Ingredients

·         1 spaghetti squash, cut in half with seeds and inner membrane scooped out

·         2 Tbsp. olive oil

·         1 tsp. minced garlic

·         1 28-oz. can diced tomatoes, undrained

·         1 tsp. dried parsley

·         1 Tbsp. Cajun seasoning

·         ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1.      Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Place spaghetti squash on baking sheet, cut side down.  Bake for 45 minutes.

2.      Remove squash from oven and allow to cool slightly.  Using fork, scoop out inside (should look like spaghetti strands).

3.      While squash is cooling, briefly sauté garlic in oil. Stir in tomatoes and remainder of juice. When tomatoes are bubbly, mash slightly with a fork. Stir in parsley, reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes more.  Add Cajun seasoning and Parmesan and cook 2 minutes.

4.      Toss squash with tomato sauce. Top with shredded mozzarella if desired.

The biggest change that I made to the original recipe is that I didn’t use pasta, I used spaghetti squash.  I am currently in a love affair with this variety of squash – I love the taste and texture and it serves as a healthy alternative to pasta.  I also used canned diced tomatoes instead of buying 13 plum tomatoes!  Looking back, I should probably have upped to 1.5 or 2 cans of 28 oz. size, but hindsight is 20-20. 

This dish is really easy and quick to make, even the spaghetti squash is pretty easy – just be careful when forking out the innards, no burns allowed!  The sauce was very thick and chunky, which is why I think more tomatoes would have been a good idea (or petite diced).  I liked the soft texture of the tomatoes against the firmer squash.  My sauce was slightly spicy, just a hint of heat, and full of flavor.  I feel that each element stood on its own, the garlic and parsley were not overpowered by the tomatoes or the Cajun.  I also only used the Parmesan and not the additional mozzarella called for in the original recipe – even the Parmesan felt a bit overwhelming with only the 1 large can of tomatoes.  The cheese and Cajun seasoning work nicely together with a bit of a flavor explosion!  If I used more tomatoes, I’d probably keep the other seasonings the same, or increase just a tad, and add the mozzarella.  I hope that you make this dish because my mouth is watering just writing about it!