Last Night's Dinner: Spaghetti Squash with Butter and Herbs

It is fun to test your children by serving them spaghetti squash at this time of year. Some of them will taste it and exclaim with delight, "Wow, this healthy vegetable looks just like spaghetti!" Others will take one bite, indignantly shout, "This is nothing like spaghetti!" and have a hard time trusting you for several months afterwards. My husband brought home a beautiful specimen from Quail Hill on Saturday, and last night I prepared it, looking forward to the kids' reaction. To my surprise, they both responded positively (last year this was not the case at all, so I had to forget about trying to convince them that roasted Brussels sprouts tasted like candy). Maybe it was because I added a good-size knob of butter and some fragrant chopped fresh sage to the dish for luxurious flavor. Here is the recipe:

Spaghetti Squash with Butter and Herbs
Serves 4 as a side dish

You could mix a 1/2 cup or more of grated Parmesan cheese into the squash and serve this, for 2 or 3, as a vegetarian main course.

One 2 1/2-pound spaghetti squash, halved lengthwise and seeded
2 teaspoons olive oil
Salt
Ground black pepper
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 shallot, finely chopped
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh sage leaves

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Cover a rimmed baking sheet with heavy duty aluminum foil. Brush the cut sides of the squash with the olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Lay the squash on the baking sheet, cut sides down, and roast until a skewer can be inserted easily into the flesh, about 30 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the shallot and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Use two forks to scrape the squash strands away from the skin of the squash and then add the squash to the pan along with the herbs and butter. Cook, stirring, until the butter is absorbed and any excess liquid from the squash has evaporated, 3 to 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and serve.