Vegetarian mains
Spaghetti squash & spinach gnocchi
Spaghetti squash: not Clint Eastwood’s new line in soft drinks but an unusual variety of seasonal gourd. When roasted, the flesh can be forked out in noodle-like strands. It’s wetter in texture than your usual squash and lends itself well to adding to a pasta sauce or, as here, our tasty potato gnocchi balls. To test it’s roasted, turn it cut-side up and insert a sharp knife into the thickest part.
Ingredients
- 1 spaghetti squash
- 2 onions
- 10g rosemary
- 2 garlic cloves
- 200g spinach
- 1 chilli - optional
- 1 tsp light brown sugar
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 20g pine nuts
- 400g pack gnocchi
- 150ml soy cream
- 1 lemon
Method
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Step 1
Preheat your oven to 190˚C/Gas 5. Halve the squash, crossways. Deseed, then drizzle the cut sides with oil and season. Place cut-side down in a roasting tin. Roast for approx. 30 mins, until the flesh is soft, while you continue.
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Step 2
Peel, halve and thinly slice the onions. Strip the leaves off the rosemary stalks; roughly chop. Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a large saucepan. Gently fry the onion and rosemary with a pinch of salt for 20 mins, stirring occasionally.
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Step 3
Meanwhile, peel and finely chop the garlic. Strip the leaves off the spinach stalks. Deseed and finely chop the chilli.
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Step 4
Stir the sugar and vinegar into the onion. Continue to cook for 10 mins, stirring often, until golden and caramelised. Remove the roasted squash from the oven and set aside to cool slightly.
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Step 5
In a dry frying pan, gently stir-fry the pine nuts, until lightly golden. Transfer to a plate. Add the spinach to the same frying pan with 1 tbsp of oil and a splash of water. When wilted, press with a spoon over the sink to remove excess liquid. Transfer to a plate.
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Step 6
Scrape the squash flesh out of the skins. Stir the garlic and chilli (to your taste) into the onion for 2 mins. Boil the gnocchi for 2-3 mins, until they bob to the top. Drain.
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Step 7
Stir the squash and 100ml of soy cream into the onion. Simmer for 2 mins. Stir in the spinach, gnocchi and more soy cream to loosen it, if you like. Season. Add lemon juice and more chilli, to taste. Serve, sprinkled with pine nuts.