Preheat oven to 450 F. Salt and pepper the inside of the squash, then place the halves face down on a baking sheet or roasting pan that you’ve sprayed with cooking spray.

Roast the spaghetti squash for 45-60 minutes until very tender. Remove it from the oven and let it cool when the flesh of the squash is very easily pierced with a fork.

Meanwhile, make the sauce: Heat a large pan to medium heat and add the carrot, celery, and onion with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt. Let the veggies soften for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and chili pepper and cook with veggies for 2 minutes until fragrant. Add all of the spices to the pan and stir for 2 minutes. Then, add the wine and allow it to reduce by half.

Add the tomatoes and their juices to the pan and taste the sauce. Add more salt if you’d like! Allow the sauce to simmer for at least 10 minutes, adding water a few tablespoons at a time if it becomes too thick.

Prepare the squash: Scoop the insides of the squash into a large bowl, reserving the shells. Add the butter and salt and pepper to taste to the squash, and tear with two forks to form “spaghetti”.

Preheat the low setting of your oven’s broiler.

Put the squash “shells” into a baking dish. Evenly mound the “spaghetti” back into the squash halves, and top with sauce and the cheese. Put the dish into the oven and reheat the mixture and melt the cheese for 5-10 minutes until the cheese is bubbly. Make sure to keep an eye on it so it doesn’t burn.

Serve with a small spoonful of prepared pesto (recipe in my TastyKitchen recipe box) and some crusty bread.