Spaghetti Squash with Almond-Arugula Pesto

https://www.washingtonpost.com/pb/recipes/spaghetti-squash-almond-arugula-pesto/15126/

One night, Jerry and I had spaghetti squash in a restaurant served in the shell of the squash, filled with various zucchini, yellow squash, and pattypan squash.  The veggies were mixed with the 'spaghetti' and tossed with a light tomato sauce and bread crumbs of some sort.  Of course Jerry said, "You should make something like this."  Almost on cue, I found a recipe from February that I had set aside for spaghetti squash in which the spaghetti was tossed with almonds and an arugula-based pesto.  I love arugula!  So I tried combining the dishes, with the pesto on mixed squash and baby eggplant.  This pesto was excellent - on this dish, as well as on chicken.  And easy to make.

Here's the combined recipe, but you could make it as presented in the Washington Post, or simply toss some mixed veggies with a good tomato sauce like Rao's and spoon into the spaghetti squash without the pesto.  The presentation is still very nice, especially if you're expecting company.

Ingredients:
1 large or 2 small spaghetti squash (about 4 pounds)
1/4 cup plus 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup whole, roasted unsalted almonds, plus 1/4 cup , coarsely chopped, for garnish
1 small clove garlic
3 cups loosely packed arugula leaves
1 cup loosely packed basil leaves
1/2 cup packed freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1-2 Tbsp water

2 zucchini
2 yellow squash
2 baby eggplants
olive oil sparingly to toss
2 Tbsp almond flour (optional)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground pepper

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2) Cut the squash in 1/2 lengthwise and scoop out the seeds, discarding them or reserving them for another use.  Brush the cut sides of the squash with 1 Tbsp of th oil, then place the halves, cut sides down, in a large, shallow baking dish.  Add just enough water to the baking dish to reach 1/2 inch up the sides.  Roast for about 45 minutes, until the squash is tender, then transfer the squash to a work surface and allow it to cool slightly, 10 minutes.  Use a fork to scrape out the squash flesh, transferring it to a mixing bowl as you work.  Cover loosely to keep it warm.  Discard any water left in the baking dish and the spent squash halves.

3) Cut the zucchini and eggplant into 1/2 - 1 inch dice.  Toss with olive oil.  Combine almond flour, salt and pepper and toss.  Put in oven at 350 degrees and toss occasionally until slightly brown and fork-tender, about 20 minutes.

4) For the pesto: Combine the 1/3 cup of almonds and the garlic in a food processor; puree until finely ground.  Add the arugula, basil, 1/4 cup of the cheese, the lemon juice, salt, pepper and 1 Tbsp of the water.  Puree; while the machine is running, add the remaining 1/4 cup of oil in a slow steady stream to form an emulsified, bright-green pesto.  Add the remaining tablespoon of water if the pesto seems too thick.

5) Spoon the pesto over the cooked spaghetti and other squash and toss with tongs to coat.  Garnish with the remaining cheese and chopped almonds.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

It can be made ahead through step 4, keeping the ingredients separate.  Before serving, heat the large squash and mixed veggies at 300, then toss with the pesto.