Spaghetti Squash with Tomatoes and Olives

Late April, and the semester is ending for both James and Carrie — James finishing his senior year, Carrie finishing her freshman year, the two of them at different schools in different cities at different stages of their academic lives, connected by the phone calls they make to the same kitchen and the food they request when they come home. James requests shrimp and grits. Carrie requests biscuits. The requests are their signatures, their culinary identities, the dishes that say "home" in a language that does not require words.

James's graduation is May 8th. The ceremony will be in person — masked, outdoor, the first real commencement at the College of Charleston since the pandemic began. I have been planning the dinner for weeks: fried chicken, collard greens, mac and cheese, cornbread, three-layer chocolate cake. The meal is the same meal I made for James's high school graduation, because the meal is the tradition, and the tradition does not change for the degree, only for the person receiving it, and the person is the same James, three years older, infinitely more formed, still requesting shrimp and grits.

Mama had a fall this week — small, caught by Ruth, no injury. The falls are less frequent now, not because she is steadier but because we have removed everything that could trip her and installed everything that could catch her, and the removal and installation have made the house a padded cell of love, every surface safe, every path clear, every corner softened by the hands of a family that has reengineered its environment around one woman's diminishing ability to navigate it.

Robert finished a new project: a cookbook stand, designed to hold the manuscript I am writing, angled for reading while cooking. The stand is walnut, matching the desk, and the matching is the aesthetic of a man who builds a coherent world — a world where the desk and the stand and the shelves and the spoons are all the same wood, all the same grain, all the same love made solid.

I made red rice — the weeknight staple, the dish that requires nothing from the cook except patience and rice and tomatoes and the willingness to let the pot do the work. The pot did the work. I wrote at the desk while the pot worked. And the division of labor — the pot cooking, the woman writing — was the evening's perfection.

Red rice is its own thing — deeply Southern, deeply mine — but on the nights when James’s graduation menu is already drafted in my head and Mama’s week has left me quieter than usual, I reach for whatever lets the pot carry the weight. Spaghetti squash with tomatoes and olives is that dish for me: you halve it, you season it, you slide it into the oven, and then you go back to your manuscript and let the heat do what heat does. The tomatoes collapse into something almost saucy, the olives give it a little brine and backbone, and by the time I’ve written a page or two, dinner has made itself — which is, on the best evenings, exactly the division of labor a household needs.

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 45 minutes | Total Time: 55 minutes | Servings: 4

Ingredients

1 large spaghetti squash (about 3 lbs), halved lengthwise and seeded
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup pitted Kalamata olives, roughly chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
2 tablespoons fresh basil, torn, or 1 teaspoon dried
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese (optional, for serving)

Instructions

Preheat and prep. Preheat your oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil. Brush the cut sides of the spaghetti squash with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place cut-side down on the prepared baking sheet.
Roast the squash. Roast for 35 to 45 minutes, until the squash is tender when pierced with a fork and the flesh separates easily into strands. Remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes.
Cook the tomatoes and olives. While the squash roasts, warm the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute until fragrant. Add the cherry tomatoes, olives, and red pepper flakes if using. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes have softened and released their juices into a loose sauce. Season with salt to taste.
Shred the squash. Use a fork to scrape the squash flesh into long strands directly in the shell, or transfer the strands to a serving bowl.
Combine and serve. Spoon the tomato and olive mixture over the squash strands and toss gently to combine. Top with fresh basil and Parmesan if desired. Serve warm, directly from the shells or from a bowl.

Nutrition (per serving)

Spaghetti Squash with Tomatoes and Olives — When the Pot Does the Work So You Can Write