Farm to People Recipe: Spaghetti Squash Bolognese
The Joy of a Doable, Flexible Recipe
Finding a doable and flexible recipe is always a win in the Fischer Kitchen. Doable means the ingredients are easy to source, and the process is straightforward. Flexible means you can tweak it without sacrificing taste—sometimes even making it better than the original.
Farm to People is a farm-sourced food shopping and delivery service I use occasionally, alongside my usual shopping haunts: Whole Foods, Jubilee, Costco, and D’Agostino. I love Butterfield Market uptown for specialty items and more—it always stands out with something new and exciting to me. Whenever I see recipes from any of these sources, I stop and look.
“We Can Make This Ourselves”
Phil glanced at the printed Farm to People Spaghetti Squash Bolognese recipe and said, ‘I’ve had that before. It was good, but I didn’t know what to expect.”
“I remember—Malibu Farm at South Street Seaport,” I said.
“Well, we don’t have to go out for it. We can make it ourselves,” I added. “It doesn’t look too hard.’”
First, we needed spaghetti squash. Living in NYC means we often split grocery runs depending on what we pass during our errands. I found a perfect squash at D’Agostino and called Phil, triumphant.
“Got it!” I said on the phone, holding the squash like a first-place trophy. I also picked up some lean ground beef—just a tiny amount, as the recipe called for one pack, thawed. I briefly considered substituting ground turkey but decided to stick to the original this time.
Phil was out dropping off a shirt at the cleaner and a letter at the post office but said he’d swing by a store or two for an onion, celery stalks, and a can of crushed tomatoes. When he returned, I beamed at his haul, especially the crushed tomatoes—organic, grown in New Jersey, in a can with BPA-free lining. He had checked on the contents of a few alternatives, trying to get the best, but any crushed tomatoes would’ve worked fine. He even got pre-cut onions and celery, which was a helpful shortcut.
Adjusting on a Busy Day
The plan was to make the meal on Wednesday, which wasn’t supposed to be busy. But the day was filled with work, calls, and a meeting at 6 p.m. to sing a few songs with my musical director.
At 4:45 PM, I was scrambling around the kitchen, realizing there was no way I could help with the sink full of dishes before I left if we were to get this dinner done. Quick thinking was required. I couldn’t follow all the steps. I had to improvise, cooking the pieces as I could, using our killer burner on the stove to brown the meat quickly, and enlisting two Instant Pots to do the rest.
I halved the squash as the meat browned and scooped out the seeds. I drained the cooked meat on a plate lined with paper towels. I set that aside. then I took the crushed tomatoes, pre-cut onions, and celery and put them in our new Instant Pot. I wanted more veggies, so I quickly chopped some carrots into small disks and tossed them in too.
The recipe didn’t call for spices, but in the Fischer Kitchen, certain things are a given. I sprinkled in paprika, garlic pepper from South Africa, and za’atar, which make everything taste better. I set the Instant Pot to be ready by the time I returned.
Cooking the Spaghetti Squash
We weren’t done yet—the squash still needed to be cooked. Thankfully, we hadn’t gotten rid of our old Instant Pot.
“At about 7 PM, turn this one Instant Pot on for a few minutes to cook the squash,” I told Phil. “But we don’t want it steamed to the point where it falls apart.”
With that, I ran out the door.
The Final Dish
When I got home, Phil was still tackling dishes, but the meal was nearly ready. We removed the squash halves and placed them on plates.
“I know what to do now,” he said, fluffing the insides with a fork until they looked like spaghetti.
I scooped the Bolognese onto the squash on both plates. We paired it with homemade guacamole and crackers as a side for a simple, satisfying dinner. Farm to People gets accolades from us for this adaptable, delicious recipe!