spaghetti squash with parsley

• 1 medium sized spaghetti squash
• fresh parsley, finely chopped
• butter
• coarse salt
• fresh pepper

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Cut squash in half lenghtwise and remove pulp and seeds. Fill up a casserole dish with about 1/4 inch of water, place squash face down in it and bake for 30-45 minutes or until tender. Let squash cool for a few minutes and remove the flesh (is there a better word for it?) using a fork and pulling it lenghtwise to form long strands. in a large bowl add parsley to squash and season to taste with butter, salt and pepper.

The dish: If you're a long time reader of this blog, then you know that I'm not afraid of carbs and didn't buy into the whole Atkins craze. That being said, spaghetti squash is great as it has the feel of pasta, but with a nuttier flavor that stands on its own better and has no fat and virtually no calories. If cutting a raw squash the size of a toddler scares you, then you can cook it whole and scoop out the funk once cooked. I typically will cut it when raw to avoid excessive handling when hot and I find that it tends to dry out a little when cooked whole. If you don't already own one, now is a great time to buy a knife sharpener (I have a Chef Choice 110 and love it) as all of these delicious fall and winter root veggies are thick skinned and tend to be difficult to cut.