Spaghetti Squash Pie

No need to prep any of the ingredients in advance—you’ll do it while the squash cooks.

Preheat oven to 375 F. Cut squash crosswise into four equally thick rounds and place them on a rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt (no oil) and bake for an hour, flipping them halfway through.

While the squash cooks:
1. In a skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat until shimmering. Add onions and cook for 7 to 10 minutes, until browned. Set aside in a dish to cool.
2. Thinly slice zucchini into rounds that are just under ¼” thick. Lay them on a clean kitchen towel or two layers of paper towels to absorb excess moisture.
3. Finely grate the Parmesan.
4. Shred the Fontina or mozzarella.
5. Optional: Let the marinara sauce drain in a fine mesh strainer, stirring a few times, to remove excess water. This will create a firmer pie.

When done, remove the pan of squash from the oven. Cool squash rounds on a cutting board and lightly oil the baking tray (with olive oil spray, if you have some). Turn oven up to 475 F. Lay the zucchini slices on the tray and cook them in the bottom third of the oven for 13 minutes, turning slices (carefully, they may stick slightly) halfway through. Remove slices to a dish to cool. Reduce oven temp to 375 F.

Use a fork to shred the squash into spaghetti noodles by gently running the fork around the inside circumference of the rounds. Place “noodles” in a colander in the sink, cover with a clean towel, and press down to squeeze out excess moisture. Refold the towel a few times, “fluffing” the squash each time with tongs.

Place spaghetti squash flesh in a medium bowl. Add ricotta, cooked onions, eggs, half the grated Parmesan, the salt (or more, depending on the saltiness of the sauce) and half of the black pepper. Stir until well incorporated.

Spread 2 teaspoons of olive oil in the bottom of a 9 inch, pie plate (glass if you have it). Spread squash mixture evenly in pan. Lay zucchini slices over the squash mixture in a single layer, then spread an even layer of sauce over the zucchini (you should be right around the top of the glass pie plate by now). Sprinkle with all the shredded cheese, then the remaining black pepper, and finally the remaining half of the Parmesan.

Place pie plate on the baking sheet (so it doesn’t create smoke when it bubbles over a bit) and bake in the top third of a 375 F oven for 30 minutes, until bubbly. Increase heat to 425 F and bake for another 10 minutes to brown the cheese, if you like. Remove from oven.

Allow pie to set for at least 10 minutes before serving. Eating it fresh out of the oven, it won’t be super firm in structure, but after chilling and eating as leftovers, it should have a much firmer consistency.