Green Harissa Surf & Turf: Spaghetti Squash with Green Harissa and Grilled Shrimp with Pork Chops

A creative Middle Eastern-inflected surf & turf — spaghetti squash tossed cold with a vibrant green harissa (fresh herbs, jalapeño, cumin, lemon), served with your choice or combination of grilled shrimp and pasture-raised pork chops. Restaurant-elegant, refreshing, deeply nourishing.

Yield: 4 servings · Active: 40 min · Total: 1 hr 15 min · Late spring through autumn · Best eaten: early evening

Complete Menu

1. Spaghetti Squash with Green Harissa (served cold or at room temperature)

2. Grilled Shrimp (surf)

3. Pan-Seared or Grilled Pork Chops (turf)

Choose one protein or both for full surf & turf. Optional accompaniments: fresh mint, lemon wedges, extra green harissa, homemade preserved lemon, sliced avocado.

A note on green harissa

Traditional red harissa is the North African chile paste (Tunisian originally) — dried red chilies, garlic, cumin, coriander, and olive oil. Green harissa is a bright, herb-forward reimagining — fresh parsley, cilantro, mint, dill, jalapeño, garlic, cumin, and lemon replacing the dried red chilies. The result is a vibrant emerald-green sauce that reads as a Middle Eastern cousin to Italian salsa verde or Argentinian chimichurri. It works beautifully as a marinade, a dressing, or a finishing sauce.

Traditional Green Harissa is served cold or at room temperature — the fresh herbs are the point.

Recipe 1 — Spaghetti Squash with Green Harissa

Yield: 4-6 servings · Active: 20 min · Total: 1 hr

Ingredients

Spaghetti squash

• 1 medium spaghetti squash (about 3-4 lb)

• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• 1 tsp sea salt

• ½ tsp freshly cracked black pepper

Green harissa

• 1 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, packed

• 1 cup fresh cilantro, packed

• ½ cup fresh mint leaves, packed

• 3 tbsp fresh dill, chopped

• 2 green onions (scallions), roughly chopped

• 1 medium jalapeño, seeded (or half-seeded for medium heat)

• 4 garlic cloves

• 3 tbsp fresh lemon juice

• Zest of 1 lemon

• 1 tsp ground cumin

• 1 tsp ground coriander

• ½ cup extra virgin olive oil

• 1 tsp sea salt

• ½ tsp freshly cracked black pepper

Additional bowl components

• ½ cup fresh peas (blanched briefly) or thawed frozen peas — optional but traditional

• 2 tbsp toasted pine nuts (optional)

• ¼ cup crumbled sheep's milk feta (optional)

• Additional fresh herbs (parsley, cilantro, mint)

Method

Roast the spaghetti squash:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C). Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

2. Prep the squash. Carefully cut the squash in half lengthwise. Scoop out seeds. Rub interior with 2 tbsp olive oil, salt, and pepper.

3. Roast. Place squash halves cut-side down on the sheet pan. Roast 35-45 minutes, until the flesh is tender when pierced with a fork.

4. Shred. When cool enough to handle, use a fork to scrape the flesh into spaghetti-like strands. Transfer to a large bowl.

Make the green harissa:

5. Blend. In a food processor, combine parsley, cilantro, mint, dill, green onions, jalapeño, garlic, lemon juice, lemon zest, cumin, coriander, salt, and pepper. Pulse until finely chopped but not puréed.

6. Add olive oil. With motor running, drizzle in olive oil until emulsified into a bright green sauce.

7. Taste. Adjust salt or lemon as needed.

Assemble:

8. Cool the squash briefly. Let the spaghetti squash cool to room temperature (about 15 minutes).

9. Toss. Add half of the green harissa to the spaghetti squash. Toss gently to coat. The squash should be well-coated but not swimming.

10. Add extras. Fold in blanched peas, toasted pine nuts, and crumbled feta if using.

11. Chill or serve at room temperature. Traditionally green harissa spaghetti squash is served cold or at room temperature.

12. Plate. Transfer to a serving platter. Drizzle additional green harissa over the top. Scatter fresh herbs. Serve with lemon wedges.

Reserve remaining green harissa (about ½ cup) for drizzling over the proteins.

Recipe 2 — Grilled Shrimp (Surf)

Yield: 4 servings · Active: 10 min · Total: 15 min

Ingredients

• 1½ lb large wild-caught shrimp (16-20 count), peeled and deveined, tails on

• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

• 1 tsp sea salt

• ½ tsp freshly cracked black pepper

• ½ tsp ground cumin

• Zest of ½ lemon

• Juice of ½ lemon

• Fresh cilantro or parsley

Method

1. Prep the shrimp. Pat dry. Toss with 2 tbsp olive oil, salt, pepper, cumin, and lemon zest.

2. Grill or pan-sear. Heat grill to medium-high or a cast iron skillet with 1 tbsp olive oil over medium-high heat.

3. Cook. Grill or sear shrimp 1-2 minutes per side, until pink and just cooked through. Don't overcook.

4. Finish. Squeeze fresh lemon juice over. Scatter fresh herbs. Serve alongside the green harissa spaghetti squash and drizzle additional green harissa over the shrimp.

Recipe 3 — Pan-Seared or Grilled Pork Chops (Turf)

Yield: 4 servings · Active: 15 min · Total: 30 min (plus optional 2-hr dry brine)

Ingredients

• 4 bone-in pasture-raised pork chops (about 1¼ inches thick, 8-10 oz each)

• 2 tsp Baja Gold sea salt (for dry brine, 2-24 hours ahead)

• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• 4 garlic cloves, finely minced

• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary, leaves stripped and chopped

• 4 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves stripped

• Zest of 1 lemon

• ½ tsp freshly cracked black pepper

• 2 tbsp grass-fed butter (for finishing)

Method

Dry brine (ideally 2-24 hours ahead):

1. Salt. Pat pork chops dry. Rub with sea salt. Refrigerate on a rack, uncovered, for 2-24 hours.

Cook:

2. Bring to room temperature 30 minutes before cooking.

3. Marinate briefly. In a shallow dish, combine olive oil, minced garlic, chopped rosemary, thyme leaves, lemon zest, and pepper. Rub over pork. Let sit 10 minutes.

4. Grill or pan-sear. Heat grill to medium-high or heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat.

5. Cook. Grill or sear chops 4-5 minutes per side until deeply golden. Add butter to the skillet in the last 2 minutes and baste. Internal temperature 145°F for medium.

6. Rest 5-7 minutes.

7. Serve drizzled with green harissa alongside the shrimp and spaghetti squash.

Plating the Complete Meal

Present family-style on a large warm platter: pile the spaghetti squash with green harissa on one side; arrange the grilled shrimp alongside; place the pork chops on the other side (if serving both proteins). Drizzle extra green harissa generously over the shrimp and pork chops. Garnish with fresh cilantro, mint, and lemon wedges. This is a real celebration surf & turf — bright, herb-forward, deeply satisfying.

Sourcing (essential picks)

• Fresh spaghetti squash — pale yellow to golden skin (not green). Should feel heavy for its size

• Fresh flat-leaf parsley, cilantro, mint, dill — Italian flat-leaf parsley (not curly), vibrant green, from a farmers' market or windowsill pot

• Fresh jalapeño — organic, firm, unblemished

• Fresh scallions and garlic — organic hardneck garlic

• Wild-caught large shrimp — U.S. Gulf Coast, U.S. Atlantic, or sustainably farmed. Avoid imported farmed shrimp from Southeast Asia

• Bone-in pasture-raised pork chops — heritage-breed when possible (Berkshire, Mangalitsa, Tamworth). Farmers' market, local butcher, or shipped from pasture-raised producers

• Fresh peas (optional) — from a farmers' market at peak spring/summer. Frozen organic peas work when fresh isn't available

• Fresh lemon — organic when using zest

• Toasted pine nuts (optional) — organic, single-ingredient. Italian or Mediterranean source (Chinese pine nuts can cause "pine mouth" for some people)

• Sheep's milk feta (optional) — traditional Bulgarian or Greek 100% sheep's milk feta

• Grass-fed butter — European-style cultured butter is exceptional

• Fresh rosemary and thyme — windowsill pot or farmers' market

• Single-estate extra virgin olive oil — Portuguese, Italian, Spanish, or Greek, harvest-dated

• Baja Gold sea salt for cooking; fleur de sel or Maldon for finishing

• Whole and ground spices (organic, non-irradiated, single-origin) — cumin, coriander, chili flakes. Ground fresh from whole seeds for meaningfully brighter flavor

Storage

• Green harissa: Refrigerated up to 5 days in a sealed jar with a thin layer of olive oil on top to prevent oxidation. Excellent over any grilled protein, roasted vegetables, or eggs

• Green harissa spaghetti squash (assembled, cold): Refrigerated up to 3 days. Excellent as a next-day lunch

• Roasted spaghetti squash alone: Refrigerated up to 4 days

• Cooked shrimp: Refrigerated up to 2 days. Best fresh

• Cooked pork chops: Refrigerated up to 4 days. Excellent cold with green harissa

Leftover transformations: Toss leftover spaghetti squash with additional greens and any leftover protein for a next-day lunch bowl; blend green harissa into a soup with bone broth; scramble green harissa with pastured eggs for a Middle Eastern-inflected breakfast; slice cold pork onto salads with green harissa dressing.

Support for the Female Infradian Rhythm

This meal is beautifully supportive across cycle phases. Grass-fed pork delivers B1 thiamine (one of the highest dietary sources), zinc, selenium, and iron. Wild shrimp delivers selenium, astaxanthin, and B12. Fresh green herbs (parsley, cilantro, mint, dill) deliver chlorophyll, vitamin K, and aromatic oils supporting liver hormone metabolism — meaningful during rising estrogen phases. Spaghetti squash delivers beta-carotene, potassium, and fiber. Fresh mint delivers menthol (traditionally supportive for digestive comfort during PMS). Fresh dill delivers anethole (estrogen-modulating aromatic oil). Cumin and coriander support digestion and are traditional across Middle Eastern cycle-supportive cooking. The whole meal is bright, herb-forward, and cellular-nourishing — the metabolic rise of follicular and ovulatory phases matches this plate's freshness beautifully.

Nourishment Notes

Wild-caught shrimp — selenium, astaxanthin, B12, complete protein.

Grass-fed pork chops — B1 thiamine, zinc, selenium, complete protein.

Fresh parsley, cilantro, mint, dill (in green harissa) — chlorophyll, vitamin K, aromatic oils, and heavy metal binding. Parsley delivers exceptional vitamin K; cilantro binds heavy metals; mint delivers menthol; dill delivers anethole (estrogen-modulating).

Fresh jalapeño — capsaicin and vitamin C. Gentle anti-inflammatory support.

Fresh garlic — allicin and organosulfur compounds.

Spaghetti squash — beta-carotene, potassium, fiber. Grain-free vegetable-based pasta substitute.

Fresh lemon — d-limonene, vitamin C.

Cumin and coriander — cuminaldehyde, linalool. Digestive-supporting aromatic oils.

Optional fresh peas — protein, folate, vitamin K.

Optional pine nuts — zinc, vitamin E, magnesium.

Optional sheep's milk feta — calcium, K2, A2 casein.

Grass-fed butter — CLA, K2, butyrate.

Extra virgin olive oil — oleic acid, polyphenols.

Fresh thyme and rosemary — thymol, rosmarinic acid.

— Anna aka Food Marshall