Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F. Carefully cut the spaghetti squash in half from top to bottom. Watch the video below to see how I SAFELY do this. Scoop out all the seeds and place the squash cut side up on a sheet tray. Season the inside of the squash with 2 total teaspoons of oil, a generous pinch of salt, and a few cracks of pepper. Roast in the oven for 65-75 minutes, or until a small knife can pierce the squash and come out with ease. If it still feels hard or the knife doesn’t come out easily, cook it another 10-15 minutes. Remove from oven and let squash cool down.

While the squash is cooking, season the chicken thighs with cumin and smoked paprika on both sides, set aside. Make the yogurt marinade by combining all of the ingredients in a medium size bowl and check for seasoning. The flavor should be bright and tangy from the lemon and have a mild garlic taste, so adjust accordingly. Save ½ cup of marinade to use as a dipping sauce later. Place the spice rubbed chicken in a large zip top bag along with the remaining marinade. Squeeze the air out, and massage the chicken making sure it’s well coated in the marinade. Let sit at room temperature for 20 minutes or refrigerate for up to 2 hours.

When time to cook, wipe all of the marinade off the chicken and season both sides with a generous pinch of salt. Pre-heat a large cast iron pan over medium-high heat with 2 teaspoons of oil. Cook half of the chicken in the pan for 5 minutes, flip and cook another 5 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pan repeat this process with the second batch. Once the chicken goes in the pan, don’t touch it until it is time to flip, otherwise you wont get a nice crust. Once the second batch is done, remove from the pan and lower the heat to medium. Add the chicken stock, lemon zest, and juice to the pan and let it cook for 3 minutes. Turn the heat off, add the parsley, and mix well. Pour the pan sauce over the cooked chicken and set aside.

To finish the squash, use a fork the pull the squash into strands of spaghetti and place them in a large bowl. To see how to do this, watch the video below. Season the pulled squash with the grated cheese, lemon zest and juice, nuts, herbs, sliced chile, ¼ teaspoon salt, and a few cracks of pepper. Mix very well and check for seasoning. You may need more cheese or lemon juice.

Plate the chicken with the squash and use the leftover yogurt as a dipping sauce, enjoy! The chicken and squash will last in the fridge for 5 days or you can freeze the chicken for 2-3 months. The squash will not freeze well, it gets watery and mushy. When time to re-heat, take the lid off the container, cover with tin foil, and reheat in a 400 degree F oven for 10-12 minutes. If re-heating in the microwave, take the lid off, cover with a wet paper towel, and make sure not to re-heat too long or the chicken will dry out.