My husband will never live down his inquisitive wonder when he first tasted this dish. He ate it with the gusto and loud appreciation of a newly-married man and innocently asked, “Wherever did you find the time to make pasta from scratch?!?” I showed him the squash skins with a few remaining strands and introduced him to this “exotic” American vegetable.

Spaghetti squash is a hybrid cross between two varieties and has yet to be discovered or grown in Italy. Its flesh is so fibrous that it resembles home-made pasta. It can be baked, microwaved or boiled but pressure cooking is faster and, in my opinion, gives the best results.

Although most vegetables need about 5 minutes at pressure – don’t let the size of this squash fool you into thinking it needs more. The three minutes I recommend are plenty. Pressure cook this squash for too long and its long spaghetti-like strands break into an unimpressive shaggy pulp. The only time you should pressure cook Spaghetti Squash more is if the strands do not easily tease apart when lightly scraped with a fork.

Pressure Cooker Accessories Pr. Cook Time Pr. Level Open 6 L or larger none 3 min. High(2) Normal