Spaghetti Squash Fritters with Yogurt Chive Sauce

In another wave of squash inspiration, I decided to do some experimenting with spaghetti squash. My mom first introduced me to the vegetable a number of years ago and I still to this day think it's a bit strange and unexpected...which I'm sure my college roommate would attest to given the look on her face the first time I cooked with it in our apartment. It makes for a great pasta stand-in, however, instead of "pasta", this time around I decided to attempt a fall version of a summer favorite, zuchinni fritters.

Zuchini fritters made their way into my repoitorie this summer after a Saturday stroll through my local Whole Foods, where they have made a tradition of hosting "Saturday Smackdowns". Each week a new feature ingredient is incorporated into a recipe in each of the different departments, which shoppers can then sample and vote on. One thing that caught my attention about the fritters was the use of chickpea flour instead of regular flour, which I decided to also adopt for my recipe. It might appear I have a mild obsession with everything chickpea, but the flour is high in protein, fiber, iron and is gluten free - who's complaining?

Aside from the cooking time to get the squash to its characteristically stringy, spaghetti form, the recipe was very quick and easy. I rarely am completely surprised by the outcome of the dishes I concoct, but the pairing of the squash with the fresh sage and other ingredients made for a delightfully light savory evening treat.

The recipe:

2 cups cooked spaghetti squash or 1/2 of a whole spaghetti squash)
1/4 cup chickpea flour
1/3 cup chopped onion
1 1/2 tablepsoons chopped Fresh Sage
1/8 teaspoon Nutmeg
2 teaspoons Garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon Freshly ground Pepper
1 egg
1 tbsp canola oil

Chives

Plain greek yogurt

Salt & Pepper

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Cut the squash in half and remove the seeds. Roast, cut side down, on foil-lined, cooking sprayed baking sheet for ~35 minutes. Allow the squash to cool. With a fork, scrape the squash strands into a strainer resting over a bowl. Sprinkle with salt to help draw out the excess water. Meanwhile prepare the other ingredients, then squeeze the remaining water from the squash.

In a medium bowl, combine the squash spaghetti, sage, grated nutmeg, onion, garlic and pepper. Stir in the egg and flour and mix well until combined.

Form fritters by hand or using a 1/4 cup measure and sauté them in a pan using canola oil. Cook until the fritters are golden brown on each side, 4 to 6 minutes. After the fritters have cooked for a couple minutes. Place fritters on paper towels to absorb the excess oil.

To prepare the yogurt chive dip, mix together plain greek yogurt, chopped fresh chives, salt and pepper to desired flavor.