Baked stuffed spaghetti squash with bacon and olives

Spaghetti squash pulls apart into long, tender strands that hold a filling the way pasta holds a sauce, and it earns its place on the plate honestly, a real vegetable, not a substitute standing in for something it is not. This is a full one dish meal you can assemble ahead and bake later, useful on a day when energy is short.

The squash brings fiber, which feeds the gut and supports steady digestion, along with some vitamin C, involved in tissue repair. Bacon, olives, onion, and rosemary cook right inside the shell, so a mild vegetable becomes a full, savory plate.

This is humble, generous food. Fill the shells, salt the tops, tuck in the rosemary, and let the oven do the rest. Serve it with leafy greens and a moment to notice how good a simple meal, made with care, can be.

Ingredients

• One 3.5 lb spaghetti squash, halved and seeded (a squash, kept in as Core; it is not a grain or nightshade despite the name)
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 1 lb bacon, cut small (choose a clean-label bacon with no added sugar fillers or seed spices)
• 1 cup sliced black olives
• 2 teaspoons sea salt
• Fresh rosemary
• Warmed coconut milk, optional, to drizzle
• Leafy greens, to serve

Method

• Salt the cut faces of the squash halves. Mix the onion, bacon, and olives, and pack the mixture into the seeded cavities. Salt the top and tuck in the rosemary.
• Set both halves in the smallest baking dish that holds them so they cannot tip and spill the hot bacon fat.
• Bake at 400 F for about 1 hour, until the squash is tender enough to scrape into strands. Some squashes need around 15 extra minutes.
• Scoop out portions with the stuffing on top. If you like, drizzle with a little warmed coconut milk. Serve with leafy greens.

Note from the source's comments: bacon baked inside the squash stays pale rather than crisp. If you want it crisp, cook the stuffing separately in a pan and combine, or finish the whole dish as a casserole. Artichokes make a good addition. To make ahead, assemble, refrigerate covered, and bake later.

*Adapted from a-squirrel-in-the-kitchen*