Oh là là...la rentrée est là! It's back to school here for us Parisians. After an 8 week summer break we are happy to be eating our local veggies again. This week I came home with a spaghetti squash in my bag. Its been a long while since I've had one of these. I can actually say the last time I had it was when I was living in New York— ahem, that would be more than ten years ago.
Association pour le maintien d’une agriculture paysanne (AMAP), a French equivalent of a commmunity supported agriculture (CSA)
While collecting my veggies of the week I overhead many fellow food community members struggling about how to season their spaghetti squash. It seemed like many of them were not so excited to meet the spaghetti squash again this week (note: it's my first one I've encountered since I have been a wanderlust this summer).
Fearing a bland and soggy outcome and not wanting to follow the traditional marinara sauce route because nothing is worse than non "al dente spaghetti" and red sauce, I opted for an Asian twist—I was not in a gratin state of mind either.
It turns out the spaghetti squash on its own has a slight buttery sweetness which you can taste through the red curry piquant sauce. The assisting pineapple adds to that sweetness. This dish is filling enough to eat as is but for the rice eaters out there, this is a great topper.
Big cheer to starting off the school year with a rah-rah spirit!
Spaghetti Squash with a Splash of Red Curry Shrimp
INGREDIENTS//Serves 4
• 1 Spaghetti Squash (mine weighed 1400 grams), roasted
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1.5 tablespoon red curry paste (add more if you like it spicy)
• 125 ml ( 1/2 cup) coconut milk
• 1 teaspoon tamarind paste
• 150 grams pineapple, canned and cut
• 1 cup edamame beans
• 300 grams (23-25 pieces) shrimp
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• 3-4 stems fresh coriander
• 3-4 stems fresh Thai basil or regular basil
INSTRUCTIONS
Pre-heat your oven to 200° celcius.
Cut your spaghetti squash in half lengthwise. Using a soup spoon scrape out the seeds. Place it flat down on a baking dish and add a quarter cup of water to the pan to help keep the surface from drying out. Let it roast in the oven for 40 minutes. All ovens vary so slice a knife through the skin to see if it is tender.
Take it out and let it cool.
To prepare the red curry sauce, add your oil and onions in a pan and cook it until it becomes translucent.
Combine the red curry paste, tamarind paste and half of the coconut milk and stir until it slightly thickens.
Add the edamame beans and shrimp and let it cook until the shrimp turns pink and then add the fish sauce, the pineapple and the rest of your coconut milk.
Stir in some fresh basil leaves and let is simmer on low heat until ready to serve.
After the spaghetti squash has cooled down, use a fork to pull out your spaghetti shreds lengthwise for longer "noodles".
Place it in a large serving dish and top it off with the shrimp red curry sauce.
Garnish with lots of fresh coriander and serve.
NOTE
I used frozen edamame beans and I put them in directly to cook with the sauce. It only takes about 5 minutes for it to soften up. You can also use frozen shrimp but just be aware that there will be more liquid content.
If you don't have any shrimp on hand, salmon and chicken are good substitutes.