Slow Cooker & Instant Pot Spaghetti Squash
After two failed slow cooker recipes in the same day, a blackberry jam which burned (!) and a cherry 
almond rice pudding with an unpalatable outcome, I gave up on the sweet stuff. Instead, I turned to a fail-safe favorite 2 minute prep recipe which I make regularly with a spaghetti squash.
The reason that the first two recipes failed are twofold and are common with most culinary disasters that I have.
- I missed a step making the jam. I was busy and distracted and forgot to add a kitchen towel underneath the slow cooker lid to absorb the evaporated liquid and therefore allow the jam to thicken. When I returned to the delicious but soupy concoction, I turned the heat up to compensate, forgot about it, and of course it burned. I later tried to pass it off as a “blackberry molasses” to my husband, but I could tell by his face that it was burned, pure and simple.
- Curiosity got the better of me choosing the rice pudding. I took a risk and chose a recipe which used egg and it turned the pudding into a mildly scrambled texture and not the creamy consistency I like and expect. I wished I had trusted my instincts on this one.
I felt disappointed and out of pocket so in order to feel at least a little success I took the spaghetti squash out of the fridge. Once cooked, there are so many options for using it either as a stand alone dish (my favorite is to top it with olive oil, salt and pepper) or as the basis for something more substantial. Here are a few suggestions for incorporating it into a meal, some of which are perfectly Whole 30 compliant, in advance of Meg’s post next week.
Toppings:
- Spaghetti or marinara sauce, fresh basil and shaved parmesan
- Cotija cheese or feta, fresh oregano and olive oil
- A blend of mixed cheeses and fresh herbs and pop under the grill until it bubbles
- Mix with fresh goat cheese and toasted almonds
- Pile smashed avocado, chopped egg and hot sauce onto the top
- Scoop it out and top with shredded carrot, diced chicken, beansprouts, cilantro, chopped peanuts or almonds and a thai salad dressing
- Olive oil / truffle oil / butter, salt and pepper, simply twirl is around a fork and eat it straight out of the shell
- 1 spaghetti squash
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- salt
- pepper
- 1 cup water
- slice the squash lengthways and scoop out the seeds
- rub each half with olive oil
- add the water to the slow cooker
- stack the two halves in the slow cooker (or place alongside one another it doesn’t matter)
- cover and cook on LOW for 5-6 hours or HIGH for 2 hours
- remove from the slow cooker and remove the ribbons of squash with a fork or use according to the recipe you have chosen
- slice the squash lengthways and scoop out the seeds
- rub each half with olive oil
- add the water to Instant Pot
- stack the two halves on the trivet in the Instant Pot
- secure the Instant Pot lid and pressure valve to Sealing
- press the Manual button and adjust the cook time to 6 minutes
- turn the dial to Venting and use Quick Pressure Release
- remove from the slow cooker and remove the ribbons of squash with a fork or use according to the recipe you have chosen
“Failure is a bruise not a tattoo”
-Jon Sinclair
