GOLDEN BECHAMEL SPAGHETTI SQUASH + PINE NUT PARMESAN

This beautiful recipe comes to us from The Plant Collective, A Holiday E-Cookbook that I am so honored to be a part of!! The cookbook features 50+ plant-based recipes from 32 leaders in food + wellness & 60% of all sales go to Alice Water’s Edible Schoolyard Project; building school gardens, teaching sustainable, healthy food practices. It makes the perfect holiday gift!

Join the movement supporting healthy food for all! 

This plant-based béchamel is equally luscious as the traditional version but keeps you feeling lighter and healthier. It is incredibly versatile; dollop over roasted vegetables, use as casserole sauce, a dip for crudité. Roast your spaghetti squash well for a softer, slightly more spaghetti-like texture. Serves 4 as a side.

Recipe by Emily Rose Shaw

INGREDIENTS:::

1 tbsp ghee or coconut oil 

1 small shallot, minced

1 garlic clove, minced

2 tbsp brown rice flour

2 cups cashew milk (recipe follows)

1 bay leaf

½ tsp turmeric

¼ cup nutritional yeast

2 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp prepared brown mustard

¾ tsp himalayan pink salt

many turns of freshly cracked black pepper

Cashew milk

1 cup cashews, soaked overnight or at least 4 hours

3 cups purified water

1 medium spaghetti squash

Pine nut parmesan

½ cup pine nuts

2 tbsp nutritional yeast

½ tsp himalayan pink salt

½ tsp Italian spice mix

METHOD:::

Golden béchamel

First prepare the cashew milk.  Add the soaked cashews and water to a blender, blend on high for one minute. Set aside. Over medium-low heat, melt the ghee. Add the minced shallot, garlic, and sauté for a couple minutes until translucent. Add the flour, whisking constantly for about four minutes. It will clump, but keep whisking to avoid burning. Add the cashew milk and bay leaf, raise the heat and continue to whisk for another 4-5 minutes, or until it thickens like a sauce. Take off the heat and remove the bay leaf. Whisk in all remaining ingredients. Set aside.

Spaghetti squash

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Slice open spaghetti squash lengthwise. Scrape out the insides with a spoon. On a ¼ sheet pan, pour about ½ inch of water, and place the spaghetti squash halves face down. Poke a few holes in the tops with a fork to allow steam through. Place in the oven and roast until a fork inserts without resistance.

Pine nut parmesan

Place all ingredients in a food processor, and pulse lightly until the texture resembles parmesan cheese. Do not over-process, or it will clump up.

Assembly

Dollop or splatter some golden béchamel on a plate. Mix together the spaghetti squash and remaining béchamel. Using a fork, twirl into bird’s nests and place on the plate. Adorn with a generous sprinkle of pine nut parmesan, seeds of choice, edible flower petals, and micro greens.