Mushroom Agrodolce with Roasted Spaghetti Squash

This is Steven's favorite dinner.

2 spaghetti squashes
8 Tab. olive oil
2 teaspoon chopped garlic
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
6 Tablespoons of sugar
24 ounces of Shiitake and/or Portabella mushrooms
2 sweet peppers, (yellow, orange, red, green or a mixture), sliced into strips

Optionally: fresh basil, grilled beef, chicken or fish

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Halve two spaghetti squashes lengthwise and remove the seeds. Place cut-up side up in 11 x 13 glass baking dishes.

Heat 6 Tab. olive oil, 2 teaspoon chopped garlic and 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes in a saucepan over low heat, stirring until the garlic is tender (about 8 minutes.)

Using about 2 Tablespoons of the garlic oil, brush the cut sides of the spaghetti squash and then season with salt and pepper to taste. Place in oven and roast until tender (about 1 hour.) When it is done, hold squash with a towel and, using a fork, pull off the flesh in strands and place in the baking dish. Season to taste with salt and pepper. If this gets done before the rest of the dinner, you can reduce the oven to 200 degrees F and cover the baking dish with foil; keep it warm in the oven.

Agrodolce Sauce
While the squash is cooking in the oven, add to the rest of the garlic oil, 1/2 cup red wine vinegar and 6 Tablespoons of sugar. Simmer over medium-low heat until syrupy and caramelized (about 5 minutes.) Set aside until later.

Options
We eat this as a vegetarian meal, but if you wish to have meat in the dish, you can grill beef, chicken or fish. Our younger kids do not like the dish, so we serve them strips of meat and the spaghetti squash with butter and fresh Parmesan cheese.

Heat 2 Tablespoons olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add 24 ounces of Shiitake and/or Portabella mushrooms, season with salt to taste and cook, stirring, about 5 minutes. Add 2 sweet peppers, (yellow, orange, red, green or a mixture), sliced into strips. Transfer to a dish. Add 2 Tablespoons olive oil to the pan with 2 cups of cherry tomatoes and toss until they blister. Add 2 Tablespoons of the Agrodolce sauce and a splash of water. Cover and cook until the tomatoes burst (about 5 minutes.) Return the mushrooms to the pan with the tomatoes and warm through. Sprinkle about half of the Agrodolce sauce over the vegetables.

You may want to re-heat the Agrodolce sauce before you serve. We often add fresh basil to it when we re-heat it.

To serve place a serving of roasted spaghetti squash on the plate. Spoon over it vegetable mixture. If you want meat on it, add it now. Top with a sprinkle of Agrodolce sauce.