Pancetta, Spinach and White Wine Garlic Alfredo over Spaghetti Squash |

Tags

baked spaghetti, creamed spinach sauce, garlic cream sauce. helthy dinner, spaghetti squash, white wine sauce

Pancetta just gives a rich full flavor to anything that you can use bacon for but with a bit less calories. It is an Italian cured pork belly. One serving of pancetta also contains no carbohydrates or sugars and no dietary fiber per serving. I thought of this because I love creamed spinach and quite frankly I was tired of the same sauce on spaghetti squash night so decided to indulge. I’ve seen some variations on this recipe but decided to do what I love. The richness that the spinach brought and the flavors of the garlic and wine coming together really made a difference.

Serves 4
2 whole Spaghetti Squash/ halved, de-seeded and steamed
10 slices of Pancetta or 4oz diced
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/2 stick of real butter
12 oz frozen spinach drained and squeezed (the frozen really works best for this)
1 tsp of sea salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 large garlic clove minced or 2tsp mince garlic in olive oil
1 Cup White Wine or 1 cup of Chicken or Vegetable stock
2 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, and 1/4 cup for topping

Start by cutting the spaghetti squash into halves lengthwise. Scoop out seeds and discard. Place squash halves on lined baking sheet face down, drizzling the inside first with some olive oil, salt and pepper or you can steam them face down in a Pyrex dish with water in a 400 degree oven for about 40 mintues or until fork tender, which is what I did.

Remove from oven and place them face down on a cookie sheet letting the squash cool slightly and draining any excess water. you can also just place some paper towels in the center for a faster method. When cooled, take your fork and start pulling your strands of squash away from the sides, leaving your squash bowl in tact.

In a large sauce pan or pot, add 2TB of extra virgin olive oil and the diced pancetta frying pan over medium – high for about 5 minutes, or until crispy.

While this is being done, drain your spinach and squeeze all the excess liquid out of the spinach and place to the side in a bowl.

Now that the pancetta is nice and brown, add in your butter, salt and pepper and melt together.

Next add garlic and spinach sauteing into the pancetta mixture. One thing I will say is please make sure you do it this order, and all of the water is out of the spinach and added at this point. This is to keep from making the sauce too watery. When it is blended together nicely, add wine (or broth) and simmer for 1 min.

Add cream and 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese and let simmer on a lower heat for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. it will almost look like a light thinner version of creamed spinach. Yum!

Now to fill! Divide sauce among the four squash that you have placed each in it’s own bowl.

Lastly, top with the remainder of the grated Parmesan cheese and serve.

This was a hit! So creamy, double vegetable with a the pancetta mimicking a rich bacon flavor and a hint of white wine. Luxurious and comforting.

There are many things you can substitute with this recipe. Don’t care for the cream but want it rich? When the liquid is nice and hot, add in a cornstarch/water mixture to thicken. Directions: (2 tablespoons per cup will give you a thicker, more gravy-like consistency. When you want to thicken hot liquids, first mix corn starch with a little cold water until it’s very smooth. Then, gradually stir the corn starch/water mixture into the hot liquid until it’s blended. Be sure to stir constantly.)

Need more direction? leave a comment, I have tons of tips to help you along the way.

~Enjoy