roasted jalapeño spaghetti squash cakes (grain free)

Let me tell you a little about the weather right now.

It sucks. Sure, it’s pretty and sure, it hardly ever snows real snow in Oregon, but I can’t stand it.  It’s really snowing, really reallllllllly snowing.  Like, there are inches of snow outside, I can’t see where the sidewalks end and where the streets start, and I think my car is out there still, but I really can’t be sure because all I see is a giant white blob of snow.  It hasn’t stopped coming down for hours and hours and I feel like it’s getting heavier and heavier sitting round in my house all day.  So I made spaghetti squash cakes because latkes sounded amazing and comforting, but I don’t have potatoes laying around.   *Note to self: next time a snow storm is on its way buy lots and lots of potatoes.  and wine.

So, these cakes are crispy and crunchy on the outside, and soft on the inside.  I’m not sure if that’s how they are supposed to be, but I love them and couldn’t stop eating them so I think that’s a good sign.  Also, I’m big on roasting peppers lately.  Can’t stop.  My fingers are sort of always burning because I’m too lazy to wear gloves, but it’s totally worth it.

Roasted Jalapeño Spaghetti Squash Cakes

1 good sized spaghetti squash

1 tbsp salt

2 jalapeños

1 egg

½ cup potato flour

1 tsp garlic powder

½ cup fat of choice, plus more as needed (duck fat, ghee, palm shortening, or avocado oil if you don’t mind heating it)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Carefully, cut the squash in half and place it cut side town on a sheet tray lined with foil.  Bake in the oven for about 45 minutes, or until the squash is tender to the touch.  Remove from oven, flip the halves over onto a plate, and let cool.  Keep the oven on for the peppers.  Place the two jalapeños on the sheet tray and roast for about 20-25 minutes, flipping half way through, until the peppers are blackened.  Remove from oven and let cool.

When the squash is cool enough to handle, scrape out the insides with a fork and place into a large fine mesh strainer.  You want about 6 cups of squash, so if you have extra save it for another use. Sprinkle the salt over the squash, mix with your hands, and let sit over a bowl or in the sink for about an hour.  This will allow a lot of the water to drain.

In the meantime, cut the pepper tops off, cut in half, and remove ribs and seeds.  If you want the cakes to be spicy you can leave the seeds in.  Finely mince the roasted peppers.

After about an hour, cut out a large piece of cheese cloth and fold it in half.  Pour the squash onto the cloth, gather the corners, and twist so that liquid starts to gush out.  Really squeeze and twist so that a ton of liquid comes out.  I got almost two cups of water out (this process with reduce the the squash’s volume).  Dump the drained squash into a large bowl (it will end up being about 2 cups), add the whisked egg, chopped jalapeños, garlic powder, and potato flour.  Mix until everything is combined.  This squash mixture will be thick and a bit sticky.

In a cast iron skillet, heat the oil over medium heat.  Scoop the mixture into balls (I like to use an ice cream scoop, but a ¼ cup measure would work too) and slightly flatten on a flat surface.  You don’t want these cakes too flat! Once the oil is hot enough (you can test this by dropping a small piece of squash into the pan.  It should sizzle), place 3 or 4 cakes into the oil, being careful not to crowd them.  Fry for about 2-3 minutes until they are browned, flip, and cook another 2 minutes.  Remove from heat and let drain on a paper towel or on a cooling rack.  Repeat until all the cakes have been cooked, adding more oil as needed.

Eat up!!!