paleo spaghetti

I found this to be a great pasta substitute, although I am probably not the best judge, since I haven’t had real pasta in years. Regardless, this is a delicious and great carb-dense paleo dinner.

A quick disclaimer, this recipe took much longer than the ones I usually post. I think it took about 2 hours.

Paleo spaghetti with home-made sauce

Ingredients

• 1 spaghetti squash
• 1 lb ground beef
• 6 medium tomatoes – quartered
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 onion – chopped
• 1 jalapeno – seeded and chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh basil – chopped
• 1 T fresh oregano – chopped
• 1/2 cup filtered water
• 3 T olive oil
• 1/2 tsp sea-salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper

To make spaghetti squash:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Cut the squash in half lengthwise and place cut side down in a baking dish
3. Add about 1/2 an inch of water to baking dish
4. Bake for 45 minutes, until squash is easily pierced with a knife
5. Remove from the oven, uncover, and allow to cool slightly
6. Using a spoon, remove the seeds and discard
7. Using a fork, gently pull the strands of squash away from the peel and place the squash strands into a clean baking dish (If it is a little watery still, place in colander to drain first)
8. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and bake for another 15 minutes

To make sauce (you can make the sauce in advance, I just did it while the squash was baking):

1. While the squash is baking, saute the beef in a frying pan and set aside
2. To peel tomatoes: dunk quartered tomatoes in boiling water for 30 seconds, immediately dip in cold water. Then peel and remove the seeds
3. Saute onions, garlic, and jalapeno in olive oil until tender
4. Add tomatoes, water, basil, garlic, salt and pepper and stir
5. Bring to a boil and then reduce. Simmer on low for 1-2 hours and stir occasionally. The longer you simmer it, the more flavorful it will turn out
6. Once your sauce is ready, add cooked beef back in and reheat
7. Serve sauce over spaghetti squash and add some fresh basil for garnish