Recipe #77: Garlic Shrimp with Spaghetti Squash

Why oh why didn't I make a spaghetti squash sooner? This stuff is great! It has the consistency of angel hair pasta but is much better for you than pasta! A spaghetti squash has only about 40 calories per cup (as opposed to 220 for a cup of pasta!) I'd been craving shrimp for a few days, so when I saw this recipe in my cookbook "The Wine and Food Lover's Diet," I knew I had to try. It turned out perfect! I'm definitely making this dish again.


INGREDIENTS:

1 spaghetti squash (about 3 pounds)
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
5 cloves garlic, very finely chopped
2 tablespoons capers, drained and roughly chopped (I left them whole)
Cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (I used some dried parsley instead)
2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
Kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (optional).... I forgot this!

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Pierce the skin of the squash in several places with a knife and put it in a baking dish. Bake until very soft, about an hour. Use a pot holder to grasp the squash and cut in half if still whole. Scoop out the seeds. Then, with a long-handled fork, tease out the strands into a warmed serving bowl. Fluff and separate the strands with the fork. Keep warm while cooking the shrimp (or have your spouse do this while you cook, like I did!)

Spaghetti squash after pulling apart

The remains...

In a skillet over medium-high heat, warm 2 tablespoons of the oil until it shimmers. Add the shrimp and stir and toss until the shrimp are bright pink and opaque throughout, about 4 minutes. Add to the bowl with the squash.

Add the garlic to the hot pan and cook until softened, about 30 seconds. Stir in the capers and a pinch of cayenne. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil and the parsley and stir well. Remove the pan from the heat, reduce the heat to very low, and whisk the butter, a few cubes at a time, moving the pan on and off the heat so the butter just melts and emulsifies the oil. Taste for seasoning and adjust with salt and pepper. Pour over the squash and toss well. Scatter the cheese over the top and serve.

Nick mixing and mixing...