Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Pseudo-Pulled-Pork BBQ Sandwiches!

Pseudo-Pulled-Pork BBQ Sandwiches, starring Spaghetti Squash

File this under my growing list of "interesting things to make with squash." Spaghetti squash has a stringy consistency and sweet, subtle flavor that makes it a nice substitute for pork for all you vegans and followers of Abrahamic faiths.

Here's what you need to do:

* Get yourself a normal sized spaghetti squash, pretty easy to find these
days at your local supermarket.
* You'll need an onion, either an entire yellow onion or half of one,
depending on the size, chopped.
* A couple of cloves of garlic.
* Salt and pepper, to taste.
* Some potato buns, or the bread of your choice.
* Dill pickles!
* And then, the barbeque sauce of your choice. I used Hot n' Spicy Bill Johnson's Big Apple Bar-B-Que Sauce, a long-time local favorite, but you can feel free to substitute or make your own.

First, the squash.

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees and slice the spaghetti squash in half, lengthwise. De-seed, pull out the guts, and cover each half in oil. Cover a baking pan in oil as well. Put the two halves in the oven and roast for about 45 minutes, flipping once. Pull out of the oven and peel off the skin. The water in the squash should have dried up, leaving the squash loose and stringy and easy to peel apart. Peel off the squashy spaghetti strands and put them on a plate. (Roast the seeds as a snack, if you feel so inclined.)

Now, heat up a saute pan to medium and pour a tablespoon of oil. Toss the diced onions in a saute pan and cook until transparent, about 2-3 minutes. Toss in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Now mix in the spaghetti squash and turn the heat down to about 3. Pour in about 3-4 tablespoons of barbeque sauce. Cover and simmer, mixing occasionally, adding salt and pepper, for about 20 minutes.

Then just pile the squash on your buns and eat! Put some dill pickle slices on top. Serves 6-8.