Anna Sultana’s Spaghetti Squash, Middle Eastern Style

Last week the Middle Eastern Style recipe for Chicken with Cardamom was popular.

I had posted the link for it on the blog Carole’s Chatter.

It’s written by Carole, a lovely woman of a certain age who lives in New Zealand, an island country southeast of Australia.

Thanks to that, I got a very nice message from Lydia, who lives in Maryland, a state in the southeastern part of the United States.

Such is the shrinking, sharing world of blogging.

Interested in other Middle Eastern Style chicken recipes?

Try

Baked Chicken with Basil and/or Baked Chicken with Curried Fruit

I also got some e mails asking if there was a Middle Eastern Style recipe that could be enjoyed by vegetarians. 

Thank you for asking.  Of course there is.

Spaghetti squash is also called vegetable spaghetti, noodle squash, vegetable marrow, spaghetti marrow, and squaghetti.

It has flesh that is similar to other raw squash.

It can be baked, boiled, steamed or microwaved.

Then the flesh can be scraped out with a fork.
You'll get strands like spaghetti.

Served with or without a sauce, it’s a great substitute for pasta.

That's right - this recipe is also gluten-free!!

A two-fer, if you have guests who are so inclined.

Oh, be sure to save the seeds.

They can be roasted, just like pumpkin seeds.

                        Spaghetti Squash (Middle Eastern Style)

Toast

1/2 Cup slivered almonds

Peel the zest from

1 orange

Quarter or slice the orange to use as a garnish.

Cook

1 medium spaghetti squash

Scrape the inside of the squash and set aside.

Discard the rind.

In a dutch oven heat

2 Tablespoons butter 

2 Tablespoons olive oil

Add, stirring

1/2 teaspoon cardamom

3/4 teaspoon coriander

1/8 teaspoon ginger

1/8 teaspoon allspice

Cook one minute.

Add the squash and stir well to coat the strands with the seasoning.

Place the squash in a large heated serving platter.

Season with 

salt and pepper

Garnish with the orange pieces.

Top with the toasted slivered almonds and the orange zest.

Serve with a mixed green salad.

And do make the cardamom sugar and spice blend!

Baked Chicken with Curried Fruit (Middle Eastern Style) - Margaret Ullrich

Hold it!

Don't put the curry powder away just yet.

This is a nice, simple Middle Eastern recipe with a fair bit of fruit.

Both in solid and juice form.

The leftover dates can be cut up and put on your oatmeal.

They're handy to have in the kitchen.

They don't get mushy like bananas.

Dates - the perfect breakfast fruit.

Don't have cornstarch?

Three tablespoons flour equals one and a half tablespoons cornstarch.

Lentils are like rice.

If you don't have lentils, use rice.

But, really, you should expand your starch horizons.

Put a different food section on your 'Bucket List' NOW.

Please.

                              

                        Chicken with Curried Fruit

Season 

2 legs and 2 breasts 

with

salt and pepper

Brown in butter and oil.  Remove.

In the same pot, cook until translucent

1/2 medium onion, chopped 

Combine

1 1/2 Tablespoon cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon curry powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/2 Cup orange juice 

1 Cup chicken broth

juice of 1/2 lemon

Stir into pot, cook, stirring until sauce thickens.

                     

Replace chicken, cover with sauce  (can be stored in the fridge).

Bake, covered, in 350º oven 45 minutes.

Garnish chicken with

12 dates, cut lengthwise 

1/2 green pepper, chopped 

Bake, covered, in 350º oven 15 minutes.

Serve, garnished with oranges, sliced paper-thin, with rice or french bread,

and cooked lentils marinated in French dressing.

Baked Chicken with Cardamom (Middle Eastern Style) - Margaret Ullrich

As you learned last December, cardamom is a member of the ginger family.

The rich branch of the ginger family.

Okay, cardamom is a little expensive.

But, it's sweet.

A no-calorie sweet.

And cardamom adds a nice touch to Middle East recipes.

And other recipes, too.

This recipe also use some of the coriander and cumin.

And the bulgur, which will get a fried-rice texture.

Handy, eh?

                        

                         

                        Chicken with Cardamom

Season 

2 legs and 2 breasts 

with

salt and pepper

Brown in butter and oil.  Remove.

In the same pot, cook until translucent

2 medium onions, chopped

Add, stirring to glaze well

1 clove garlic, chopped 

3/4 Cups bulgur 

Add, stirring to mix well

1/4 teaspoon cardamom

1/4 teaspoon coriander

1/4 teaspoon cumin 

grated rind and juice of 1/2 lemon

                     

Replace chicken, cover with bulgur (can be stored in the fridge).

Pour over chicken and bulgur

1 1/2 Cups chicken broth 

Bake, covered in 350º oven 1 hour. 

Serve with mixed green salad.

Baked Chicken with Basil (Middle Eastern Style) - Margaret Ullrich

Ah... Basil.

You've already used it when you made my Ma's meatballs.

Well, now's the time to taste what it does to chicken.

A dinner main course usually has three basic parts.

Meat, vegetables and starch.

And, in North America, the starch is usually rice, potatoes or pasta.

And we wonder why the kids are bored at dinner time.

There's a world of starches out there, folks.

And they're most likely in your regular grocery store.

You just have to look.

Or ask that nice, cute clerk.

In the Middle East bulgur is a staple starch.

There the kids would be surprised by French fries.

Yep, they're bored by bulgur.

So it goes.... 

                       

                        Chicken with Basil

Season 

2 legs and 2 breasts 

with

salt and pepper

Brown in butter and oil.  Remove.

In the same pot, cook until translucent

1 medium onion, chopped 

Add

1/2 Cup ground almonds

1/4 Cup honey

1/2 Tablespoon basil

1 clove garlic, chopped  

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Cook, stirring over gentle heat.

Combine

1 Tablespoon cornstarch

3/4 Cup chicken broth

Add.  Cook, stirring over high heat.                         

Remove from heat, add

juice of 1/2 lemon 

                     

Replace chicken, cover with sauce (can be stored in the fridge).

Bake, covered in 350º oven 1 hour. 

Serve with bulgur, and watercress salad with red onion and parsley.