SPAGHETTI SQUASH PERFECTION

I considered calling this post Life-Changing Spaghetti Squash, but then decided it would be a bit much, after all many people don’t even care for it and rather have their lives unchanged, leaving the spaghetti squash behind at the grocery store.  However, if you are like me and happen to love the process of making the strands magically appear at the tines of the fork, then enjoy them with a little browned butter, or a hearty Bolognese sauce… you should consider this method.  You’ll need a pressure cooker with a steamer insert, and 8 minutes of your busy day.  Eight short minutes and you will be rewarded with the best ever spaghetti squash, the strands will have such great texture that you will not use another method ever ever again.

Instead of a regular recipe, I will walk you through the process, which starts exactly the same way as any other method… Cut the spaghetti squash in half and remove the seeds (I like to cut them crosswise but you can definitely do it lengthwise).

squash cut

Now, set up your pressure cooker with 1/2 cup water inside, and a steamer….

steamer

Place the spaghetti squash halves inside the steamer, it doesn’t matter if they don’t fit standing up, any placement will work fine….

pressurecooker

Close the pressure cooker, once it reaches proper pressure cook for exactly 8 minutes.  Open the pan right away by equalizing the pressure running the pan under cold water in the sink…. Marvel at the look of the strands, ready to be forked out without a single hard, uncooked spot….

8 minutes

Now, all you have to do is remove the strands to a serving platter, and enjoy the best, most perfect spaghetti squash ever, in record time!

Spaghetti Squash22

Comments: I eat a lot of spaghetti squash and have tried many methods to cook it. Most people like to roast it, but I intensely dislike doing so. More often than not I end up with chunks of the squash that never get tender enough to pull into strands, and then it’s a major pain, sticking it back in the oven or calling it a day and accepting the idea that some of it will be lost. One day I read about microwaving it, and it is an improvement in terms of time and convenience. You can cut it in half, remove the seeds, and microwave it for about 15 minutes.   It cooks a lot more evenly, but the texture suffers a little.  With the pressure cooker, all problems are solved: in 8 minutes you get spaghetti squash that will give you nice strands all the way through the skin. And the texture? Unbeatable!  I know not many people have a pressure cooker, but if you are a spaghetti squash fan, it’s almost worth getting one just for preparing it. Not to mention black beans, artichokes, brown rice….

😉

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