Meatball Stuffed Spaghetti Squash

I know…. Spaghetti squash is so 2000s Paleo, right along with Zoodles and all that carb-phobic jazz. But this dish turns out to be really good. Split a spaghetti squash in half, scoop out the seeds, rub with olive oil, and roast until really nice and soft and roasty; it took a solid 40 minutes in my air fryer at 350°F. Fill with your favorite meatball sauce (I just threw one together to go with meatballs from Giovanna Bellia La Marca’s Sicilian Feasts cookbook) and that’s it! Or you can gild the lily and load up the top with grated Parmesan and broil until brown and bubbly. There’s something about the combination of the rich meatballs and earthy squash that’s just perfect together and doesn’t at all feel like you’re sacrificing anything.

While we’re on the topic of meatballs, I just remembered this incredible recipe, which is Roman and features pancetta as well as a mix of pork and beef—incredibly rich and delicious. It would go fine with the spaghetti squash, but if you’re going to go to that much work, I think you deserve to have it on real spaghetti….