Spaghetti Squash w/Caramelized Onions and Browned Butter

Happy December!! I have been a little obsessed with caramelized onions lately -- Caramelized onions are a magical substance -- seriously, they can turn any dish into a feast! This dish contains 2 kinds of magic -- Caramelized Onions AND Browned Butter!

If you have never made caramelized onions (or Browned Butter), I have included How To's at the end of this post. Both are incredibly simple and add a wonderful flavor profile to any dish you include them in.

Spaghetti Squash w/Caramelized Onions and Browned Butter

1 medium spaghetti squash
1 onion caramelized (see how to following)
4-6 Tbsp butter, browned (see how to following)
salt and pepper to taste
parsley for garnish

Cook spaghetti squash your preferred method. Remove pulp from rind and fork into strands. Place in oven ready casserole dish. Add caramelized onion, browned butter, salt and pepper and mix. Garnish with parsley and bake at 350°F until heated through. Serves 6. Each serving 225 calories, 13.22g carbs, 2.7g fiber = 10.52g net carbs

Caramelizing Onions How To:

Firstly let me say, you need about an hour for this process -- you do not want to be in a rush. You will need a heavy bottom, shallow pan -- I prefer my trusty, well-seasoned #10 cast iron skillet, onions -- yellow ones make the best caramelized onions in my opinion, and fat -- I use butter, but you do need to be extra careful to not burn it -- you can also use a combination of butter and olive oil, just olive oil or coconut oil.

 What you do not need is sugar -- onions have enough natural sugars that no additional is needed to achieve caramelizing. Another tip is not to over fill your skillet with onions -- you want to make good contact with the bottom of the skillet. I usually do 2-3 onions at a time.

Peel and thinly slice onions. Heat your skillet on low (low takes longer but you are in better control than with a higher heat). Add 1 Tbsp fat per onions you are caramelizing. When the fat is melted and shimmery, add the sliced onions. Start moving your onions around in the skillet.

 Now find something else to do that will allow you to move the onions around every few minutes but not get bored and try to rush things along. If your onions start to stick, add another tablespoon of fat. Keep cooking until richly browned. Store refrigerated for several days in an air-tight container.

Browned Butter How To:

Brown butter is one of those magical secrets that just seems to enhance the flavor of just about anything. It has a rich nutty taste and the aroma is out of this world. Even better, it's a snap to make.

To make brown butter (also called beurre noisette), simply start melting butter over medium-low heat. Use a pan with a light-colored bottom so you can keep track of the color. Swirl the pan occasionally to be sure the butter is cooking evenly.

As the butter melts, it will begin to foam. The color will progress from lemony-yellow to golden-tan to, finally, a toasty-brown. Once you smell that nutty aroma, take the pan off the heat and transfer the browned butter into a heat-proof bowl to cool.

The milk solids will cook faster and you'll see them settle on the bottom of the pan. When you transfer the brown butter to a new container, try to leave as much of this sediment in the pan as possible. You can also strain the butter through a fine meshed strainer or cheese cloth to remove all the particles.

It's easy enough to brown just what you need for your recipe, but you can also brown large batches of butter at a single time. It keeps for quite a while in the fridge, or you can freeze it in ice cube trays.

You can use brown butter in just about any recipe that calls for butter. We love spooning a little bit over fish and best over veggies.