Fun with New Food: Spaghetti Squash

I had heard of this mysterious vegetable called spaghetti squash but have never actually tried it before. When I saw it pop up at the farmers market last week, I was curious enough to give it a try.

All the recipes I had read seemed to treat it exactly like pasta. I found this a little suspicious. I mean, it was squash right?

However, I forged ahead, and Alex promised to eat whatever I came up with. He's an exceptional husband that way for building confidence in the kitchen. :-)

Spaghetti Squash with the last of Summer Veggies and Shrimp

1 spaghetti squash
1 bell pepper
1 small-medium zucchini
1 small yellow onion
4-6 cloves of garlic
3/4 pint of cherry tomatoes
1 shallot
1/2 lb medium shrimp, tails off
olive oil
1 lime
crushed red pepper
parsley
basil
feta cheese
salt to taste

Hack the squash in half with your biggest knife. Please use caution. Drizzle the flesh of the squash with olive oil then place cut side down on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Place in a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes.



When the squash has a few minutes left in the oven, fry up the shrimp with olive oil, 1 chopped shallot, a few cloves of minced garlic, the juice of one lime and crushed red pepper flakes and parsley. Strain and set aside.

In a large skillet saute the chopped onion and a few garlic cloves with olive oil until the onions are softened. Add chopped bell pepper, zucchini and halved cherry tomatoes. Saute 2-3 minutes, the vegetables should still be nice and crisp. Add the shrimp back in remove from heat and cover until the squash is complete.

When the squash is done you should be able to insert a fork with little resistance. Let it cool a few minutes until it is easier to handle. Once it's cooled slightly, remove the seeds and use a fork to scrape out the insides into a pot or large bowl.

It should come out just like spaghetti! This was one of the coolest things ever!



When all the squash has been removed, add the vegetables and shrimp and toss with a handful of fresh chopped parsley, basil, salt to taste, crumbled feta cheese and a swirl of olive oil.



Delicious!

Alex and I were both amazed and a little weirded out at how tasty this was! We both really enjoyed it. The spaghetti squash really was almost like al dente pasta and is really easy to cook. I am super excited to try more fun recipes with this crazy vegetable!