Vegan And Gluten Free Spaghetti And Not Meat Sauce - Made From Lentils And Spaghetti Squash Or Pasta

Lentils form the base for this meaty tomato sauce.
Spaghetti squash is a good gluten free alternative to pasta.

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Meat Sauce Alternative
When you simmer cooked lentils in a rich, seasoned tomato sauce they not only provide a meaty texture but they also deliver protein, vitamins, minerals and fiber. 
Let's compare a cup of lentils to a 3 ounce serving of ground beef.

One cup of cooked lentils has the same number of calories as a 3 ounce serving of ground beef but has only 5% of the total fat and essentially no saturated fat or cholesterol.

They are pretty comparable in protein but lentils deliver more than half of your daily fiber requirement while ground beef provides zip. And don't fear lentils' carbs. They are the complex kind that keep your blood sugar stable and slowly provide glucose to your cells.

Lentils are packed with folate, a B vitamin critical for heart health, the production of new cells and especially important for pregnant women. While 1 cup of lentils provides 90% of your daily requirement of folate, ground meat only provides 3%. And while the non-heme iron found in lentils is not absorbed as well as the heme-iron in the ground beef, well - there's 3 times as much of it so not to worry!

Ground beef has the one advantage of providing vitamin B12 which lentils do not. 

Spaghetti
Spaghetti squash is a wonderful alternative to pasta when you are trying to avoid some carbs and calories. It's also naturally gluten free. It's magical the way the cooked flesh turns into spaghetti strands. But I love this lentil "meat" sauce on pasta too - either whole wheat or, if you are avoiding gluten, served on any gluten free alternative like Tinkyada brown rice spaghetti pasta.

Spaghetti and Not Meat Sauce
Vegan, Gluten Free (on spaghetti squash or gluten free pasta)
[makes 4 servings]

3 pound spaghetti squash*
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 small green bell pepper, chopped 
1/4 teaspoon red chili flakes (or to taste)
3 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1 can drained lentils
1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
2 cups prepared tomato sauce

* or 8 ounces whole grain or gluten free spaghetti cooked according to manufacturers directions

Prepare the spaghetti squash. Cut in half, scoop out the seeds and place in a large pot with one or two inches of water. Cover and steam until a fork barely penetrates the flesh, about 15 to 18 minutes. Don't overcook or it will turn to mush. Remove the spaghetti squash from the pot immediately. 

Cover and steam until cooked.

Using a fork, gently pull the squash away from the sides uncovering little spaghetti-like strands. Continue to do this until all the squash is removed. Place the spaghetti strands on a platter, cover to keep warm and set aside.

Form strands with a fork

Heat the oil in a large saucepan and cook the onions and peppers at medium heat until soft, about 5 minutes.
Add the chili flakes and garlic and cook until the garlic is fragrant, 1 or 2 minutes. 

Cook onions, pepper, garlic and chili flakes

Add the basil, oregano, lentils and salt and stir to combine.

Stir in lentils and seasoning

Add the tomato sauce and simmer until the flavors blend and the sauce thickens, about 10 minutes or more. If you are using this topping on regular pasta, this would be a good time to cook the pasta.

Simmer until the flavors blend and the sauce thickens

Serve on top of spaghetti squash (pictured above) or stir together with whole wheat or gluten free pasta.

Not Meat sauce on top of whole wheat pasta

Per serving (on spaghetti squash): 293 calories, 6 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 201 mg omega-3 and 635 mg omega-6 fatty acids, 12 g protein, 52 g carbohydrates, 14.9 g dietary fiber and 1050 mg sodium*.

Per serving (on whole grain pasta): 390 calories, 5 g fat, 0.7 g saturated fat, 93 mg omega-3 and 862 mg omega-6 fatty acids, 19 g protein, 74 g carbohydrates, 15.2 dietary fiber and 1002 g sodium"

* sodium can be reduced by using "no salt added" canned lentils or cooking your own lentils.

Spaghetti Squash "Aglio E Olio" Con Piselli -Vegan, Gluten Free And Low In Calories!

Spaghetti squash and peas in a classic "aglio e olio" sauce.

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Remake of a Childhood Favorite
Once a week my grandmother would make us "piselli con pasta" or peas with pasta. Only with her Neapolitan dialect she pronounced it "pizella ga bast". It wasn't until years later while studying Italian at the University of Texas did I learn the correct way to say it. It's kind of funny that a girl from Brooklyn being raised by a Neapolitan grandmother would have to go to Texas to learn how to speak proper Italian! But that's exactly what transpired. In any case, making peas and pasta always warms my heart because it makes me think of my sweet grandma.


Aglio e Olio
Most Italian white sauces have a base of garlic and oil or "aglio e olio". Making "aglio e olio" for spaghetti takes a lot of oil because the pasta soaks it up. Most recipes for a pound of pasta call for as much as 1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil. Needless to say, the calories can really pile up. But when you use spaghetti squash instead of wheat spaghetti, you accomplish many healthful things:
* you can use a lot less oil
* spaghetti squash is naturally gluten free
* you are consuming a few servings of phytochemical rich veggies instead of starch
* it's lower in carbs (if that is a concern for you)
* it's lower in calories

Aglio e olio is a simple Italian sauce with a base of extra virgin olive oil with fresh garlic and crushed red pepper.

Spaghetti Squash
The first time I made spaghetti squash I was amazed at how the strands of steamed squash turned into spaghetti. But to get nice strands, you have to be careful no to overcook it or it will turn to mush.  I like to steam it for only about 15 to 18 minutes. 

Steam spaghetti squash in a large pot with a few inches of water.

Using a fork, carefully scrape the squash from the sides.

Spaghetti Squash and Peas "Aglio e Olio"
Vegan, Gluten Free
[makes 4 servings]


3 pound spaghetti squash
reserved cooking water
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 to 2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 can organic baby peas with liquid (~1/2 + 1T liquid) *
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
freshly ground black pepper to taste
*  (Although I usually prefer frozen or fresh to canned peas, I use canned in this recipe because the liquid from the peas makes up an important part of this sauce).


Cut squash in half, remove seeds and sprinkle insides with salt.
Place in a large pot with several inches of water. Cover and steam until barely fork tender, around 15 to 18 minutes. Do not overcook.


When cooked, remove from pot reserving cooking water.
When cool enough to handle, gently pull the squash away from sides using a fork, forming strands of spaghetti. Place in a bowl and set aside.


In a large saucepan, heat oil on medium low heat. Cook garlic and chili pepper flakes for one minute until fragrant. Add can of peas with their liquid. Season with salt.


Mix spaghetti squash in with peas. If dry, add a few tablespoons of reserved cooking water. 


Top with freshly ground black pepper, if desired, and serve.


Per serving: 184.8 calories, 7.5 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 260 mg omega-3 and 884 mg omega-6 fatty acids, 0 mg cholesterol, 5 g protein, 25.8 g carbohydrates, 5.6 g dietary fiber and 657 mg of sodium.

Fun With Spaghetti Squash

Baby artichoke sauce on spaghetti squash.

Pulling the spaghetti strands from the sides.

Simmering the baby artichokes.

"Double spaghetti".



I lied when I said butternut squash was my last fling with winter squash this year. I couldn’t resist a spaghetti squash at the grocery store and I always have so much fun preparing them. OK, you’re asking, how much fun can you have with spaghetti squash? But, if you’ve never made it, you will be delighted when you turn this football shaped, 3 pound squash into delicate strands of low calorie spaghetti. If you are trying to get your kids (or anyone else in your family) to eat more vegetables, try mixing a little spaghetti with spaghetti squash for what I call, “double spaghetti”.

Spaghetti squash can replace regular spaghetti in any recipe where you want to prepare a lighter dish that has fewer calories and gets you closer to your goal of 5 to 7 fruits and vegetables a day. One cup of spaghetti is 221 calories and 43 grams of carbohydrates. One cup of cooked spaghetti squash is only 42 calories and 10 grams of carbohydrates. So if you are trying to lose weight but still crave pasta, this can really do the trick!

I’ll be sharing my brother Peter's vegetarian baby artichoke sauce recipe but first, let’s cook up the squash.

***

Steamed Spaghetti Squash
1 three pound spaghetti squash cut in half
Sea salt

Cut the squash in half, remove the seeds and sprinkle the insides with salt. Put them in a large pot and steam them in an inch or two of water. Some people bake them in the oven until the skin is soft but I worry that you can overcook them and not know until it’s too late. Overcooking causes the squash to be mushy and you don’t get the beautiful spaghetti strands that you are looking for. Steam for about 15 to 18 minutes or until a fork can gently pierce the inside of the squash. As soon as that happens, remove the squash halves from the pot immediately. Then, using a fork, gently pull the squash away from the sides. You’ll see little strands form. Continue to do this until all of the squash comes away from the skin. One large spaghetti squash can feed 4 people.

Per 1 ½ cup serving: 63 calories, zero grams of fat, zero mg of cholesterol, 1.5 g protein, 15 g of carbohydrates and 3 g of fiber.

***

Double Spaghetti [makes 4 servings]
¼ pound of whole wheat spaghetti
4 cups cooked spaghetti squash

Cook the spaghetti squash as stated above. Cook the whole wheat pasta according to directions. Toss together and serve with a sauce of your choice.

Per serving: 147 calories, zero grams of fat, zero mg of cholesterol, 4.5 g protein, 31 g of carbohydrates and 4.5 g of fiber.

***

Pete’s Baby Artichoke Sauce [serves 4]
1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
1 pound of baby artichokes, sliced vertically into 8 pieces
1 small onion or large shallot, cut in half and then in thin slices
The juice and zest of one lemon
½ cup of white wine (and another glass for the chef)
2 tablespoons of grated parmesan cheese
3 large garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup chopped parsley
Salt and pepper to taste
Water or broth, as needed

Clean the artichokes by removing several outer layers of leaves (don’t skimp – if you don’t remove enough of the outer leaves, as I found out, the artichokes will be tough). Leave the stem on and peel it with a potato peeler. Cut vertically into 8 pieces. Sauté the onion or shallot in the olive oil for a few minutes. Add the garlic and cook another minute. Then add the artichokes, white wine, salt and pepper and simmer covered until soft (about 30 minutes – but all artichokes are different so test the leaves occasionally). Add ½ cup or more of water or broth when the sauce starts to get too thick. When the artichokes are soft, stir in the zest and juice of a lemon. Put over 4 servings of spaghetti squash or “double spaghetti”. Cover with fresh chopped parsley and parmesan cheese. For a better melding of the flavors, you can mix the spaghetti squash or “double spaghetti” into the sauce first and then serve but it isn’t as pretty a presentation.

Per serving of sauce: 128 calories, 4 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 2 mg cholesterol, 4.5 g protein, 14.5 g carbohydrates and 8.3 g fiber.