Low-Sodium Spaghetti Squash Snapper

Officially obsessed.

This bulbous vegetable holds so many surprises inside. And while I always mistakenly thought that it would (a) taste gross and (b) be difficult to cook, turns out that I was wrong on both accounts.

I really love when I’m wrong.

So let’s begin by talking about preparing spaghetti squash. All you need to do is stick it on a pan. Whole. No cutting necessary. Easy so far, right?

Then, place that pan with the squash into the oven at 375 dgF. And let it soften until you can easily slice it in half with a knife (no chainsaw needed), about 45 minutes to an hour.

At this point, you’ll have to be a bit patient and wait for it to cool, at least 10 to 15 minutes. And then, go ahead and get a fork and a bowl and have some fun.

Rake out all the spaghetti strings from the squash skin until you have piles and piles of vegetable noodles. Then, decide what you want to do with them. This is the hard part.

You can leave them raw and make a “pasta” salad. Or you can stir up some luscious ragu and make some spaghetti squash and meatballs (recipe coming on Thursday).

Or, you could spice up some filets of snapper with smoked paprika, freshly cracked black pepper, cumin, and curry powder. Both sides.

Lay out some parchment paper (or even a plastic wrapped sushi roller) and line up the spaghetti squash noodles until they are the length of the fish. Place the fish on one end and, using the parchment or sushi roller, start wrapping the spaghetti squash noodles around the fish.

Heat 2 tablespoons of sesame or vegetable oil in a skillet and when sizzling hot, use a spatula to carefully slide the fish–seam side down–into the hot hot oil.

Cook for 5 minutes, adjusting the heat to keep the squash from burning, and then flip to the other side until all the squash is nice and crispy, another 5 minutes.

Serve with rice or a side of quickly sauteed bok choy and mushrooms. And enjoy.

Just an idea.

Chow on.