Rasta Pasta in a Boat With a Cilantro Cream Sauce

NcMysteryShopper's Note:

This is an exotic dish with familiar ingredients that will transport you to the islands with your first bite. This family friendly dish is served in a “boat”, topped with a cilantro cream sauce and sprinkled with tomatoes for a visually appealing island feast. Serve with fresh crusty bread and a bottle of wine for a special dinner for two. The Chicken can easily be left out to make this a great vegetarian main dish. The low fat options make this great for those on the South Beach Diet. This recipe was created for RSC #8.

• Total Time: 25 mins
• Prep Time: 5 mins
• Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 1 (3 1/2 lb) spaghetti squash, halved lengthwise
• 3 tablespoons oil
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
• 2 teaspoons fresh grated gingerroot
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 red chili pepper, minced
• salt, to taste
• pepper, to taste
• 1 1/3 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 4 breasts)
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 sweet red pepper, sliced into thin matchsticks
• 1 tomato, seeded and cut into small cubes

Cilantro cream sauce

• 1/2 cup sour cream or 1/2 cup low-fat sour cream
• 1/4 cup milk or 1/4 cup low-fat milk
• 1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro
• 2 teaspoons fresh lime juice

Directions:

1. Cook the squash in a large pot of boiling salted water for 12-14 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl combine the 2 tablespoons of oil with the lime and orange juices, ginger, garlic, cumin and chile. Season with salt and pepper, add chicken pieces and toss to coat. Set Aside.
3. In a small bowl make the Cilantro Cream Sauce; blend the sour cream with the milk, cilantro and lime juice and season with salt and pepper. Set Aside.
4. Carefully transfer the squash halves to a large bowl and let cool. (You can start on the next step while it is cooling) Using a fork and starting at 1 end of each piece of squash, scrape up and separate the strands. Pat dry with paper towels. Set Aside.
5. In a large nonstick frying pan, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over moderate heat. Sauté the onion, garlic and red pepper for one to two minutes. Add the chicken with its marinade and cook, stirring, until chicken is cooked through (4-5 minutes).
6. Gently toss the chicken and vegetable mixture with the spaghetti squash and place in the empty squash shells for serving or place on plates. If you wish, you can place under broiler for a few minutes to darken the top.
7. Top with the Cilantro Cream Sauce and sprinkle with the tomatoes.

Reviews

[SPrins]

This was very tasty! My hubby gave it an 8.5/10 which is a huge compliment. I forgot the tomatoes at the end, but it was still yummy. I did make some pretty big changes since we are mostly vegan these days. I used #247817 for the sour cream and it turned out great!! I doubled the sauce amount and am SO glad I did!! For the chicken I used a mix of vegetarian chicken. I used no oil in the marinade and steamed the peppers and onions in water instead of oil. I will definitely be making this again!!! Thanks SO MUCH for sharing! :O)

[Elisa72]

Excellent!! My family really loved this! Next time I'll double the cream sauce. Besides being tasty and nutritious this just looks really lovely on the plate! Next time I'll serve it in the "boat!"

[AKillian24]

Loved it! DH and I are attempting to South Beach it together and this fit the very tall order of a dish we both could eat and liked. DH ususally does not like anything with a strong taste, but he loved the cool cilantro dressing. I was estatic! I will also be using the chicken marinade for other dishes as well. For fun, I seeded and chopped a jalapeno to spice it up.