Spaghetti Squash with Bolognese Sauce

Spaghetti squash made it's fall debut in our house last week. It's a great substitute for pasta, and there are so many different sauces you can put on top.  Just yesterday at work, my friend Shayna told me she loves a simple topping of salt, pepper, and freshly grated parmesan cheese. You can be lazy and just warm up a jar of your favorite marinara sauce. I wanted to do a slightly more fancy recipe, since I made this for our weekly date night meal.

My original spaghetti squash post is here, which made me laugh this morning as the photo is terrible! In that recipe, I used a jar of my favorite trader joe's three cheese marinara sauce and ground chicken. 

The recipe below is a simple classic bolognese sauce, but feel free to substitute your family recipe or your personal favorite. 

Spaghetti Squash with Bolognese Sauce

1 spaghetti squash
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 onion, diced
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
1 celery stalk, peeled and chopped
1 lb lean ground beef
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1/2 tsp oregano
1 bay leaf
1/4 cup white wine
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

Garnish - parmesan cheese, thinly slices roma tomatoes, and julienned basil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut spaghetti squash in half (lengthwise) and scoop out the seeds. Season with salt and pepper and bake (cut side up) for one hour. Prior to serving, scrape spaghetti squash into thin strands using a fork. 

In a dutch oven over medium high heat, add olive oil. Once hot, add onions, celery, and carrots, and saute until soft. Add beef and season with oregano, red pepper flakes, and salt/pepper. Brown the meat while breaking into smaller pieces. Once cooked, add the tomatoes, wine, and bay leaf, and reduce heat to low. 

Cover, and simmer for an hour or until spaghetti squash is roasted.  Place a scoop of scraped spaghetti squash in each bowl and top with bolognese sauce, then freshly grated parmesan cheese, julienned basil, and thinly sliced roma tomatoes.