Shrimp Fra Diavolo with Spaghetti Squash

Spaghetti squash always seems to trip people up. It’s often considered “health food,” an excuse to eat pasta without all of the guilt-inducing carbs. But there’s a major problem with that designation: beyond the look of the shredded strands, spaghetti squash is nothing like pasta. Expecting the taste and texture of regular pasta when eating spaghetti squash will leave you sorely disappointed.

That doesn’t mean it’s not delicious. It’s slightly sweet and vegetal, and shines with both simple oil-and-garlic sauces and heavy bologneses. If you have a microwave, you can cook the squash in the time it takes to boil a pot of water for pasta (the hardest part for me, with my limited upper body strength and dull knives, is cutting the whole squash in half). If you mentally drop the pasta comparison and consider spaghetti squash on its merits alone, it’s an excellent side to many dishes.

Pairing the squash with shrimp fra diavolo is genius, since the spicy, garlicky tomato sauce balances the sweetness of the spaghetti squash nicely. This is the kind of dish that requires very little effort and not a lot of planning to throw together, the kind of last-minute dinner that is a godsend during a busy week. I came up with it on a whim, after taking advantage of a sale on shrimp at Whole Foods and staring at a slowly wilting spaghetti squash on my kitchen counter. Usually my “need to use this up now!” meals are not cool enough to mention in these public environs (most of them involve roasting and a fried egg) but this shrimp was too good to not share.

Of course, I still managed to screw it up: intending to halve the recipe since I only had half of a spaghetti squash remaining, I bought the right amount of shrimp but the wrong-size can of tomatoes, which is why my sauce-to-shrimp-and-squash-ratio is so woefully off. I mean, I love my tomato sauce, but even I’ll admit that this was a bit overboard.

Even then, this was delicious. Fiery, sweet, saucy — no thoughts of pasta here. 

Shrimp Fra Diavolo with Spaghetti Squash

– 1 medium spaghetti squash

– salt and pepper, to taste

– 2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon olive oil, divided

– 1 pound extra-large shrimp (26-30 per pound), shelled, deveined and cleaned

– juice of 1/4 of a lemon

– 1 tablespoon red chili flakes, divided

– 3 cloves garlic, sliced

– 1/2 small yellow onion, chopped

– 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes

– 1 teaspoon Italian seasonings (or a mix of dried oregano, rosemary, thyme and basil)

– freshly ground black pepper

1) Prepare the spaghetti squash: slice the squash in half lengthwise and discard the seeds and stringy innards. Rub 1/2 teaspoon of the olive oil on each of the squash halves, then season with salt and pepper. Place on a microwave-safe dish and cover. Microwave on medium-high power for 10 minutes, until the squash has softened. Set aside to cool. (Alternately, you can roast the squash in the oven.)

2) While the squash is cooking, toss the shrimp with the lemon juice, 1 teaspoon of the crushed red pepper and a pinch of salt.

3) Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet. Add the garlic and onion and saute on medium heat until they’re softened and the onions are translucent, 7-10 minutes. Add the shrimp and saute for 1-2 minutes, until the shrimp just turns pink. Remove the shrimp and set aside.

4) Add the crushed tomatoes, remaining 2 teaspoons of crushed red pepper, and the Italian seasonings. Simmer for 15-20 minutes, then add the shrimp back and simmer for an additional 2-3 minutes.

5) Once the squash is cooled, use a fork to shred the flesh into spaghetti-like strands. Toss into the tomato-shrimp mixture, and serve immediately.