potato leek soup stuffed spaghetti squash boats
Creamy, warming bowls of potato leek soup poured into a hollowed spaghetti squash skeleton for dinner this Tuesday. These were a homerun with J and I. I know we’re nearing the termination of winter squash season, which always saddens my culinary heart, but this is a stupendous send-off to our favorite quasi-pasta. The hardest part of the meal is halving the squash, but with a little trick up my sleeve, I’ll make it way easier for you.
The microwave.
Sidebar: When I was 7 or 8 I had no idea metal was reactive in a microwave oven and very nearly ignited our whole house by reheating a batch of hasselback potatoes in its aluminum shell. Thankfully, instinct told me something was wrong with my idea, so I asked my mom whether I should take the potatoes out of the foil. She VERY emphatically said yes. Moms. Always saving the day.
Anyhow, that is pretty irrelevant to my two word catchline above. When I first tried slicing up my spaghetti squash for this recipe, my knife absolutely would not pierce the thing. Behold, the pinnacle of human invention. I gave the squashes a few pokes with a fork and heated them for about 4 minutes, just enough to soften but not enough to cook. After that trip to the tropics, the squashes cut beautifully, like a carbohydrate rich butter.
Enjoy this healthful, simple dinner on a chilly night with a glass of red wine and some type of crunchy side salad. I added lots of salt and pepper atop merely because I like to oversalt and overpepper my plates (probably not great for my blood pressure but what can I say, I sweat a lot).
What do you think of spaghetti squash? If you try this recipe out, leave a comment below about your experience, and don’t forget to come say hi on Instagram!
Need some more winter squash ideas?
Toasted Walnut Mushroom and Barley Stuffed Acorn Squashes with Rosemary Honey
Chili Maple Butternut Squash Tempeh and Roasted Corn Tacos
Spicy n’ Sweet Butternut Squash and Mushroom Quesadillas
Ingredients
- 2 spaghetti squashes, halved with seeds removed
- 3 tbsp olive oil, divided
- kosher salt and pepper
- 1 tbsp all purpose flour
- 2 leeks, trimmed, rinsed, and cut into half moons
- 1/2 yellow onion, diced
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 cups vegetable stock or water
- 1 lb potatoes, quartered
- 3/4 cup oat milk
- kosher salt and pepper
Instructions
- Heat oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment. Brush your halved spaghetti squashes with 1 tbsp olive oil (inside and outside), then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake 30-40 minutes. Remove from heat and cool until you can comfortably handle the squashes. Then, take a fork and scrape the squash tendrils out of the skin until only a thin but still-sturdy foundation of squash skin remains. This is your boat! Place the spirals into a bowl and set aside.
- Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil over medium in a large stockpot or Dutch oven. Whisk flour into oil until fully incorporated, then add leeks, onions, thyme, and garlic. Cook for 2-3 minutes until leeks and onions are translucent and the mixture is fragrant. Pour in stock or water and potatoes. Bring to a boil, then lower to a rolling simmer and cook potatoes 8-10 minutes until potatoes break when penetrated with a fork. Add oat milk, salt and pepper to taste.
- From here, you have two options. If you own an immersion blender (which I recommend anyone get, they're phenomenal!) simply submerge and whip the soup until no large chunks remain and the mixture is uniform. If you do not, carefully transfer 1-2 cups at a time into a traditional blender until the whole batch is creamy.
- Throw spaghetti squash noodles into the soup and stir with a wooden spoon until combined. Ladle soup into squash boats and top with additional thyme, salt and pepper as desired.
