Prep Time
30 minutes

Prep Notes
This is very versatile and the spaghetti squash it a great gluten free, grain free, base for just about anything that you top with. Vegan meatballs, poultry meatballs, beef meatballs. Coconut or Tomato Sauce with plenty of sautéed veggies onto of the al dente squash.

Ingredients
1 spaghetti squash–split in quarters
1 red bell pepper–sliced thin-julienne
1 shallot, minced
½ bunch of fresh basil
½ cup of toasted pumpkin seed (½ for pesto ½ for garnish)
½ cup of grated Romano cheese or vegan Parmesan cheese (little extra for garnish)
¼ cup garlic infused olive oil
dash of sea salt and pepper
¼ cup reduced chicken stock (almost like a demi glaze)
1 lemon juice and zest

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Lightly coat the quartered squash with garlic infused oil and sea salt and pepper.
3. Cook for 20 minutes, possible less depending on oven variations. Very important that is it al dente texture, not mushy. So it is basically undercooked.
4. Sauté the julienned bell pepper and minced shallot till lightly caramelized.
5. Blend the basil, ½ of the toasted pumpkin seeds, ½ of the vegan Parmesan cheese, garlic infused oil, sea salt and pepper, lemon juice, zest and reduced stock.
6. Once squash can be handled, pull out the squash threads and pour warm pesto, caramelized pepper and shallots over squash and add more basil chiffonade and adjust with vegan cheese, salt and pepper.

Chef’s note
Sometimes when guests are here I put grated cheese on the side for those who prefer it.