Roasted Sqaghetti Squash with Miso Braised Chard, Chilli Tamari Tofu & Red Quinoa

Recipe - Roasted Spaghetti Squash with Miso Braised Chard

It’s immensely surprising when you discover the range of squashes, not just in shape and size but in actual flavour and especially texture.  Spaghetti squash is probably the most fun of all in the texture department, yielding a soft noodlish texture when scooped after roasting.  It’s also natural lightly citrus-ey tasting so plays well with our salty miso and tamari flavours around the rest of the dish.

With the abundance of Irish produce around we thought, why not feature a globalised menu this month😕 and blend in some peruvian pseudo grain in the form of quinoa, and Japan’s most famous and divisive food baby, the marmite foodstuff that is tofu….confused?  Thankfully your tastebuds won’t be!!!

For tonight’s menu you will need (serves 2)…

  • 1 organic Irish spaghetti squash
  • 200g organic Irish rainbow chard
  • 400g organic firm tofu, chopped in 1 inch cubes
  • 200g organic red quinoa
  • 100g Irish organic mixed leaves
  • 50g manchego, finely grated
  • 1tbsp brown rice miso (or barley miso if you want a punchier flavour)
  • 1tbsp shoyu soya sauce
  • 100g whole organic cashews
  • ½ tsp chilli flakes
  • Juice of 1 organic lime
  • Dash of tamari
  • Dash of maple syrup

Ok so we’re aiming to get food on the table in 35 from go.. now GO!

First up, ramp up the oven temperature to 200 degrees.  Halve the squash, scoop the seed, stab the skin from the outside with a fork a few times, drizzle with EVO and sprinkle with a quarter tsp good sea salt and quarter tsp black pepper.  Stick in middle of oven scooped side up.  Set a timer for 30 minutes.

Shred your chard, heat a wide bottomed pan with about a centimetre of water in the base, and add the miso and chard when it starts to bubble. Pop a lid on and leave on a low heat for 10 minutes, or until the water has just nearly evaporated.  Drizzle a little EVO and set aside.

Boil a kettle with about 500ml water, add the quinoa to a dry pan and toast until it starts to pop, shaking to prevent quinoa burning. Add boiled water and cover, leaving on a medium heat for 12-14 minutes or until quinoa is just boiling dry.

Mix prepared tofu with soya sauce and chilli flakes, and fry in a little oil over a medium heat until tofu starts to brown and crisp slightly, stirring the whole time to reduce sticking. Remove from heat and set aside.

Add cashews into the oven for the last 5 minutes mixed with just a dash of tamari and maple syrup.

Remove squash from oven, and run a fork through it with the grain (across the squash flesh widthways). The flesh should shred into fine noodles.

Time to arrange your dish!  First place some delicious bitter salad leaves at the bottom of the bowls, then add tofu and quinoa (mixing them together first), and add the squash and chard (also premixed) and top with the cashews and grated manchego, squeezing the lime juice over the top of the whole lot.  Go out in the garden/park/balcony/drive/ ANYWHERE outdoors and enjoy!!