Lemon Garlic Butter Spaghetti Squash with Shrimp and Asparagus {Whole30}

Who wants a healthy, paleo, romantic candlelit dinner for two?!

I do! 

This meal actually came to be because I decided at the last minute that I really wasn’t in the mood for the pastelón (plantain lasagna) I’d planned to make last night.  I had my heart set on spaghetti squash, but I’d used up all the coconut aminos so paleo pad thai was out of the question.  I scrounged around the kitchen and decided to go with something ridiculously simple: a garlic butter sauce.  I found the asparagus I’d impulsively bought at Trader Joe’s because it was on sale for $1.99 a bunch (!) and pulled from the freezer the jumbo-size bag of shrimp Courtney picked up at Costco, and so this meal was born.  And I’m so glad it was!  The sauce really penetrates the spaghetti squash making the garlic butter flavor come through strong.

Lemon Garlic Butter Spaghetti Squash with Shrimp and Asparagus

A Messy Kitchen Original

• 1 large spaghetti squash
• 2 T clarified butter (ghee)
• 3-5 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 cups shrimp (or more!)
• 8-10 large stalks of asparagus, chopped into 2″ pieces
• 1/4 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 lemon
• Olive oil
• Salt & Pepper, to taste

1. To roast the spaghetti squash:  Preheat oven to 400°F.  Cut the squash in half lengthwise and scoot out the seeds.  Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper and place upside down on a greased baking sheet. Cook for 45 minute to one hour, or until skin gives under pressure and the inside is tender.  Once cool enough to handle, use a fork to scrape out all of the flesh, a little at a time.  It will come out in spaghetti like strands.  Set aside.
2. Meanwhile, heat broth and two cloves of garlic in a wok or large sauce pan.  Throw asparagus in the pan and cover to steam.  If your shrimp is raw or frozen, throw that in as well.  Once the asparagus is soft and the shrimp is cooked through (or warm if pre-cooked), drain most of the excess broth and set aside.
3. In a medium sauce pan or wok, melt ghee over low heat.  Add a couple more cloves of garlic (really just depends how garlicky you like it!) and juice of 1/2 lemon.  Toss  the spaghetti squash in the pan and mix well.  Add salt and pepper to taste.
4. Divide onto two plates and top with asparagus and shrimp.  You can also garnish with pine nuts, and parmesan cheese would be nice if you eat dairy!

Serves 2

Johanna