Paleo Halloween Recipe: “Spaghetti and ‘Eyeballs'” from Gather

How is it late October already? I mean, really. I’m not alone: even Mother Nature seems to be a bit behind this year. As I type this, we are hitting peak fall colors today (it’s just stunning outside!), and thats almost two weeks later than usual. October 14th typically marks the height of foliage beauty here in Southwestern Pennsylvania. But not so this year. Maybe it’s due to “Godzilla” El Nino, or some other meteorological force, but it doesn’t feel like Halloween week here.

Nonetheless… we wanted to share an awesome Halloween recipe on the blog today! With our Fall Fest Recipe Contest coming to a conclusion and winners being announced on Thursday (though there are still 2 days left to vote for the Popular Vote!), it’s time to start looking ahead toward the Holidays. We’ve been so busy working on our New line of Fall Flavored Spice Blends, that we haven’t had much time to get in the kitchen. Fortunately we’ve had ample time in years past, and wanted to go into the recipe vault to share some goodies with you. You don’t mind, do you? Unlike the frost-covered years-old food deep in our chest freezer, our recipes from years past are as sparkling and tasty as the day we created them. Leftovers, in this case, taste just as good.

To kick off Halloween week, we wanted to share a favorite from Gather, our second cookbook. Many of you already have this favorite book of ours (some even suggested it was worthy of being called the first Paleo “coffee table” cookbook). It’s been a pleasure to read all the Amazon Reviews of this book over the years, and still look forward to seeing new ones. It makes a WONDERFUL holiday gift, if you’re beginning to sweat what to give as a Paleo Christmas Gift this year (along with our new spices). Let us help you there. Go order it on Amazon (or leave a review if you have it!) 😉

This recipe from Gather is a fun one to make for kids. Most kids LOVE spaghetti and meatballs, so this recipe will be a big hit with the little ones. Plus it’s super fun to serve them “Eyeballs” for Halloween. This recipe scales easily for larger or smaller parties, but as written it serves 10 as a potluck-style dish… perfect for a Paleo Halloween Potluck! We hope you enjoy it!

Cheers!
Bill & Hayley

Spaghetti and “Eyeballs”

(This recipe is from our second cookbook, Gather) You are bound to get the kiddos gasping and giggling when you put a plate of what looks to be eyeballs in front of them. This is a simple recipe that is tons of fun to serve on Halloween, and the kids can help! They will love to “smush” the olive into the meatball for baking, and no matter what they look like, these “eyeballs” couldn’t be tastier.

Serves: 10

Ingredients

1 Tbsp 1 Tbsp 1 Tbsp Duck Fat, (sauce)
1 1 1 Onion, small, diced (sauce)
30 oz 30 oz 30 oz Tomato Sauce, 2-15 oz cans, no salt added (sauce)
6 oz 6 oz 6 oz Tomato Paste, (sauce)
1/4 cup 1/4 cup 1/4 cup Balsamic Vinegar, (sauce)
2 Tbsp 2 Tbsp 2 Tbsp dried Oregano, (sauce)
Salt and Pepper, to taste (sauce), and again for the meatballs
2 2 2 Spaghetti Squash
3 lb 3 lb 3 lb Ground Beef, ("eyeballs")
3 cloves 3 cloves 3 cloves Garlic, minced ("eyeballs")
1 1 1 Shallot, minced ("eyeballs")
24 whole 24 whole 24 whole Olives, green olives with pimentos, one for each meatball ("eyeballs")
Fettuccine (Cappello's), (Pasta Alternative) Buy your pasta from our friends at Cappello's
This recipe is from our cookbook: Gather

Process

Note, these instructions are written assuming the standard serving size, since you have modified the number of servings, these steps may need to be modified for best results

Heat a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat. Add the duck fat and onion to the pan, and sauté the onion until translucent. Add the tomato sauce, tomato paste, and balsamic vinegar. Stir to combine all ingredients. Season with oregano, salt, and pepper. Allow the sauce to come to a light boil, turn down to a simmer, and cover. Simmer the sauce until time for serving.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Slice the spaghetti squash in half, and remove the seeds. Place the spaghetti squash in a baking dish, and bake for 35 minutes or until fork-tender.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground beef, garlic, shallot, salt, and pepper. Roll the meat into 1-ounce meatballs, and place them on a baking sheet. Stuff each green olive with a pimento, and place 1 olive in the center of each meatball to create an “eye.” Bake the meatballs for 30 minutes.
Remove the squash from the oven, allow it to cool enough to touch, and shred the squash with a fork to create “noodles.” Plate the spaghetti squash in a large bowl. Top it with the sauce, but do not toss. Top the squash and sauce with several meat “eyeballs.” Before serving, toss the dish to evenly coat the squash with sauce.