Cooking for two is a challenge.
I may have said that before…. A few hundred times.
May things, particularly vegetables, are just too big for two people – without planning.
For us a cauliflower is 3 meals, as is a cabbage; broccoli is 2 meals; butternut squash is 3 meals or maybe 4 or 5 if it’s a big one.
I’ve been using spaghetti squash as a main course rather than a side dish, but even that is too much (mine are very big).
Fortunately it works very well to cook the whole squash in advance and refrigerate it…. Use as needed.
With the leftover spaghetti squash after using all I needed for the Spaghetti Squash Pie I made this.
For instructions on cooking the spaghetti squash, see the ‘Pie’ recipe above.
Spaghetti Squash Gratin
Total time: 40 minutes
Ingredients:
- 3 cups cooked spaghetti squash
- 1 shallot, minced
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup (2oz, 60gr) Greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup (1oz, 30gr) shredded cheese
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1/4 tsp celery salt
- 1 tsp olive oil
Instructions:
- Whisk egg.
- Add all remaining ingredients and stir well.
- Lightly oil a small baking dish. (I use a 7 inch square glass baking dish)
- Spoon squash into dish and bake at 400F (200C) for 30 minutes or until set and golden.
- Remove and serve directly from baking dish.
Yes, I know….
This is similar to my spinach gratin and chard gratin and ….
It’s just such a quick and easy side dish and works well with almost any vegetable, including (especially) leftovers.
The single biggest obstacle to cooking for two is appearances.
1/2 cup of uncooked rice is perfect for two people. but, after it’s cooked (yielding 1 1/2 cups cooked rice) and put in a bowl or divided and put on two plates it looks like a rather small, miserable serving.
The same is true of most foods.
Which is why the secret to good portion control, whether cooking for one or two or four, is not what you put on the plate after it’s cooked but what you put in the pan or skillet to cook.
You know if it’s there you’ll eat it….. Even if you think it will be for lunch tomorrow.
The only exception to that rule in my kitchen is vegetables.
I know that vegetables have calories, but, for the most part, other than beans and lentils, I consider them to be freebies.
So I always make lots of veggies and hope that there are some left….
And then I can make a gratin.
