The best squash EVAH

Ferry Building Farmer's Market 11:45 AM PST, a numbingly icy 45 degree day results in the quickest farmer's market stop on Snack Tray history. My brother is visiting and because the dinner plan includes the last of my holiday Pierogies and an awesome local made smoked Kielbasa, we need some fresh vegetables to counter act the effect of all that richness.

I spy what might be the beautiful small farm organic Spaghetti Squash I have ever seen - shiny golden beauty for sure.

The Farmer: "Nine dollars Miss"

Me: "NINE dollars?"

The Farmer: "That's a biggie Miss"

Me: "All you have are biggies?"

The Farmer: "Ok, what about Six dollars?"

Sold.

Haggling with small farm owners is less than cool for sure, and now that we have cooked and enjoyed his product I feel even worse - this was possibly the best side dish I've ever made. My brother LOVED it, as did the Mr. and they kept giving me wonderful compliments which would sound very boastful of me should I write them now - I think almost any vegetable would be good in this souffle - like dish but the fact that the squash was so sweet really made it a wonderful counter point to the roasted beet salad and smoky sausage we served it with.

Spaghetti Squash "Souffle"

Don't use water or the microwave to cook the squash - the dry roasting really added flavor.

Cut the spaghetti squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds and loose stands. Spray a rimmed cookie sheet with olive oil and put the squash cut side down, cook 400 degrees until you can easily poke through the skin with a fork (45 minutes or more depending on the size)

Carefully remove the strands by lifting them out with a fork , work side to side until you have it all removed.

Clean, slice and saute in olive oil until soft - one large sliced shallot and 2 leeks (tender green parts only - I was able to use almost the entire leek as it was so young but older, tougher ones you'd need 3- 4) sprinkle with sea salt and pepper, fresh chopped thyme and parsley, add squash (I used about 3/4 of mine or about 6 cups) gently mix. Sprinkle mixture with 2 T flour, blend again and saute for two minutes until everything is blended. turn heat off.

Whisk 5 eggs and 4 T skim milk in a large bowl a pinch of fresh nutmeg. Temper egg mixture by adding a small amount of leek/squash mixture stirring very quickly to keep the eggs from cooking at all. Continue adding until it is all incorporated.

Grate 3 ounces Grana Padano (or any other cheese you like really - even a softer one would work) and blend most of it into the bowl - reserve enough to sprinkle on top of the dish.

Since we don't have a souffle pan, I sprayed a 2.5 quart oven safe glass bowl with olive oil, put the mixture in it, sprinkled the reserved cheese and cooked at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes - or until set and golden brown on top (and along the sides if you use a glass bowl you can see that).