Green Spaghetti Squash

I found a bunch of cilantro, a few fronds of dill, and some parsley in the fridge so I decided to purée them into a version of chimichurri sauce and stir them into spaghetti squash.

I have to say, it worked very well.

The key is not to call it pesto. That makes diners imagine glorious piles of pasta with fragrant basil and garlic sauce. Green spaghetti squash would be a disappointment.

However, call it spaghetti squash with garlic butter, hazelnuts and green sauce, and it goes down very well.

I don't have a recipe, but this is what I did.

I washed a medium spaghetti squash, pierced it a few times with a knife, and baked it at 375°F for 45 minutes until it was soft. I cut it in half lengthwise and let it cool a bit. Then I scooped out the seeds and discarded them.

In the blender, I puréed cilantro, parsley and dill with a red jalapeño I pulled from the freezer, a little olive oil and a good amount of salt and pepper. Then I whirred in some water to make it more of a sauce than a paste.

I melted some butter in a skillet and added a couple of mashed cloves of garlic. I coarsely chopped a handful of hazelnuts and tossed them in when the garlic was fragrant.

I scooped the strands of spaghetti squash from their shell into the pot and tossed them in the garlic butter. Then I poured in the green sauce and stirred it together. I let it heat fully and then served it as a colorful and flavorful side.