Finding a Spaghetti Squash
Updated: Jan 31, 2022
Unknown or too old school, a Spaghetti Squash is not very common when you live in Australia.
I have been soooo looking for the lovely Spaghetti Squash everywhere when I moved to the bush of Australia. This is something I was used to finding in any supermarket when living in Montreal, but then I could not find it anywhere in the Snowy Valleys and Riverina region. My research only led me to some farmers markets in big cities. Interesting…! While I was getting into gardening, I found some seeds online and gave that a go. They successfully invaded the whole patch! My Aussie family were quite amazed by this discovery so I’ve started to grow some more each year for us, and also to share. I was happy to sow some curiosity when selling them at our market stall and to know that for some older people it was considered as very old school: sort of a forgotten squash that their grandparents used to cultivate. Some younger people seemed to know what they are because they have seen it in American recipe books or blogs, but never tasted it. And some folks never heard of it at all!
GROWING & COOKING TIPS
This yellow oval shaped winter squash measures around 20 cm and is native to the Americas, like the whole family of cucurbits. It is commonly called a Spaghetti Squash as the flesh, once cooked, can be prepared just like noodles. This can substitute pasta, which gives it a great low carb and gluten free medal. We just love these vegetable noodles with a Bolognese sauce or as a side dish with garlic, herbs and parmesan cheese. They also do well in fritters, in salads, risottos, stir fry, etc. If you grow your own, you might not get them all the same size, thus the noodles will vary in thickness (a smaller squash makes some vermicelli looking noodles). They grow and can be stored all winter like any pumpkins. Producing 5 fruits per plant that can be trained to climb, this is perfect for a little backyard.
Check out some of my Spaghetti squashes recipes and inspirations: