Author Notes
Dithered about whether to call this gremolata or pesto - it's either a pistachio-parsley pesto or a pistachio gremolata. These are the things that keep me up at night..... That being said, this dish is like the unicorn of specialty dietary requirements - vegan AND low-carb. Plus, you can knock it out in your microwave like a boss with zero loss of awesomeness. —Niknud
Ingredients
-
1
spaghetti squash
-
1 cup
shelled pistachios
-
1.5 tablespoons
lemon juice, fresh squeezed
-
2 cups
flat-leaf italian parsley, roughly chopped
-
1
clove garlic, roughly chopped
-
3/4 cup
(scant) olive oil
-
salt, if necessary
Directions
-
Cook your spaghetti squash. Cut the squash in half long ways. I remove the seeds after cooking since it's easier, but some folks like to do it before cooking - whatever blows your hair back. If you're using the microwave (better in the heat of summer), place face down in a microwaveable baking dish. Add ~1/2 cup of water and cover with plastic wrap. Turn your turntable off (unless you like the rhythmic clanging noise) and microwave for 7 minutes. Turn. Microwave 7 minutes. Turn. Microwave 5 minutes. Test for doneness by poking the skin with your finger. When it feels slightly soft, it's done. Remove plastic wrap carefully and remove the seeds. Shred the meat of the squash with two forks until you have strands.
-
If you're using the oven, preheat to 400 degrees and prep the squash as described above (except for the plastic wrap bit). Cook for 35-45 minutes and shred as in the previous step.
-
In a food processor combine the pistachios, lemon juice, garlic and parsley and pulse until you have a course sauce. I like some larger bits of pistachios for texture but if you prefer a smoother sauce, keep on going. Slowly add the olive oil while pulsing to combine. Add salt if necessary. I shelled a bag of snacking pistachios for this recipe so it already had enough salt but if you're using plain nuts, you will probably need the salt.
-
Serve the spaghetti squash with the pistachio gremolata heaped on top. If you're not keeping it dairy free, some shavings of fresh parmesan would not go amiss here.
Full-time working wife and mother of two small boys whose obsessive need to cook delicious food is threatening to take over what little free time I have. I grew up in a family of serious cookers but didn't learn to cook myself until I got married and got out of the military and discovered the joys of micro-graters, ethiopian food, immersion blenders and watching my husband roll around on the floor after four servings of pulled pork tamales (with real lard!) complaining that he's so full he can't feel his legs. Trying to graduate from novice cooker to ranked amateur. The days of 'the biscuit incident of aught five' as my husband refers to it are long past but I still haven't tried my hand at paella so I'm a work in progress!
See what other Food52ers are saying.