Spicy Spaghetti Squash

Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Slice the spaghetti squash in half lengthwise and clean out the seeds and fibers. Fill a casserole or baking dish with 1/4 inch of water and place the spaghetti squash flesh-side down in the water and set a timer for 45 minutes.

Once the squash is placed in the oven, begin work on the sauce. Heat a large sauce pan over medium heat and add the olive oil, garlic, and cayenne and cook for 1 minute. Next add the onions and cook for about 3 more minutes. Next add the crushed tomatoes and the red wine. Season the sauce with sea salt and bring it to a boil. Once boiling, add mushrooms and zucchini, stir until the sauce returns to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes. (If using frozen shrimp, now is a good time to add them to a bowl of cold water to thaw.) Remove the lid after the 30 minutes and cook uncovered for another 15 minutes.

Around the time the sauce begins to cook uncovered, the 45-minute squash timer will be complete. Flip the spaghetti squash in the pan so that it’s flesh-side up and bake for another 15 minutes.

After the sauce has simmered uncovered for 15 minutes, add the shrimp to the cooked sauce and bring the cook temperature back up to medium. Cook the sauce and shrimp together for 2-3 minutes, set aside and keep it warm.

Remove the spaghetti squash from the oven at the completion of the final 15 minutes (total time for the squash is 1 hour). Using 2 forks, scrape the fruit gently lengthwise. It should form spaghetti-like shreds. Continue removing the squash in this fashion until you reach the skin. Place the squash in bowls and spoon out the desired amount of tomato sauce with shrimp over the squash and serve. If desired, garnish with freshly grated parmesan cheese.