By Engagement party. I need a moment before I can describe it, because it was happening too fast to absorb while it was happening, and I'm still absorbing it four days later.
Maureen started cooking Friday night. By Saturday afternoon the three-decker smelled like every Irish-American comfort food I've ever loved — corned beef, shepherd's pie, clam chowder thick enough to support its own zip code, soda bread still warm from the oven, a lasagna from Mrs. Riccio next door. Then the people arrived. Firefighters from Engine 7. Teachers from St. Brigid's. Church ladies. Cousins I hadn't seen in years. Sean D.'s family from Dorchester. Two Sean Donovans in one room caused approximately fourteen incidents of someone calling "Sean?" and both men turning around simultaneously. By the second hour we'd settled into Sean Sr. consistently, which Sean Sr. declared unnecessary and Sean D. quietly found hilarious.
Somewhere in the middle of the evening I was standing in the kitchen eating soda bread, watching this room full of people who love me and people who love Sean D. becoming the same people, and it hit me not as a thought but as a feeling in my chest: this is what I have. This accumulation of people who show up and bring food and mean every bit of it. Some people grow up and leave their families behind. I grew up and my family grew around me.
Sean D. found me in the kitchen and handed me a plate with three shepherd's pie wedges and said, "I can see why you turned out the way you did." I said, "Is that a compliment?" He said, "It's the best compliment I know." That's going to be a good marriage. I can feel it already in the way he handed me that plate.
Mrs. Riccio’s lasagna didn’t get nearly enough credit that night — it was sitting quietly between the shepherd’s pie and the soda bread, doing its part, and I watched it disappear faster than almost anything else on the table. I’ve been thinking about it ever since, and I kept coming back to this spaghetti squash version I’ve made a few times on quieter weeknights — all that same layered, cheesy, baked comfort, but lighter in a way that feels right for a Tuesday when you’re still riding the warmth of a weekend like that one. It’s the kind of dish that makes a room smell like people are loved.
Spaghetti Squash Lasagna
Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 1 hour 10 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes | Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 1 large spaghetti squash (about 3 lbs), halved lengthwise and seeds removed
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 lb ground beef or Italian sausage (or a mix)
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 (24 oz) jar marinara sauce
- 1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
- Salt and black pepper, to taste
- 1 cup whole-milk ricotta cheese
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Roast the squash. Preheat oven to 400°F. Brush the cut sides of the spaghetti squash with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place cut-side down on a lined baking sheet and roast for 40–45 minutes, until the flesh is tender and easily pulls into strands with a fork. Let cool slightly.
- Cook the meat sauce. While the squash roasts, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef or sausage and cook, breaking it up, until browned, about 6–8 minutes. Drain excess fat. Add the onion and cook 3–4 minutes until softened, then stir in the garlic and cook 1 minute more. Add the marinara sauce, Italian seasoning, and red pepper flakes. Simmer on low for 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
- Make the ricotta layer. In a small bowl, stir together the ricotta, egg, parsley, and a pinch of salt until smooth. Set aside.
- Scrape and season the squash. Use a fork to pull the spaghetti squash flesh into strands, leaving it in the shell. Season lightly with salt and blot with paper towels to remove as much moisture as possible — this step keeps the finished dish from getting watery.
- Assemble. Spread the meat sauce evenly over the squash strands in each shell. Dollop the ricotta mixture over the sauce, then sprinkle 1 cup of the mozzarella evenly over both halves. Top with Parmesan and the remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella.
- Bake. Return the filled squash halves to the oven and bake at 400°F for 20–25 minutes, until the cheese is melted, bubbly, and golden at the edges. Let rest 5 minutes before serving. Slice each half crosswise into portions and serve directly from the shell.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 390 | Protein: 28g | Fat: 22g | Carbs: 18g | Fiber: 3g | Sodium: 680mg