Right: Butternut and acorn squash with red onion after roasting in oven.
If you want an impressive vegetarian dish to make an impact on the table, this Yotam Ottolenghi recipe does the job! The vibrant colors immediately draw the eye towards this stunning dish. If you think this dish is striking, the vegetable and tahini combination creates a melody of robust and complex flavors on the palette that are out of this world! I had an itch to explore cooking with tahini and came across this interesting mixture and worked with it until I was satisfied with the results. The sauce is versatile and combines well with most roasted vegetables. I also explored mixing in various types of squash and root vegetables, such as beets. If you are eager to try this recipe, I guarantee a heavenly pleasure. A gastronomical delight!
Serves 6
Ingredients
1 large butternut squash (approx. 2lbs), cut into 1in. x 2.5in. wedges
2 red onions, each onion cut into 8 wedges
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoons sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
½ teaspoon olive oil
2 tablespoons pine nuts
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon roughly chopped parsley
Tahini Sauce
3 tbsp tahini paste
1½ tbsp lemon juice
1 small garlic clove, crushed
1 tbsp water, to thin if too thick
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions
1. Heat oven to 425°F. Place squash and onions in a large bowl and add 3 tablespoons of olive oil, a teaspoon of salt and some black pepper; toss well. Spread, skin down, on a baking pan and roast for 40 minutes until the vegetables turn a light golden brown or are cooked through. Keep an eye on the onions: they may cook faster than the squash, so may need to be removed earlier. Remove baking pan from the oven and cool. Once the squash has cooled, peel off the skin.
2. Heat the ½ teaspoon olive oil in a small frying pan on medium-low. Add the pine nuts and salt, stirring for two minutes until the nuts are golden brown. Set aside the nuts and oil in a small bowl.
3. To serve, spread the squash and onions on a platter and drizzle the sauce over the vegetables. Sprinkle the pine nuts and drizzle the oil on top, followed by the parsley.
Tahini Directions
Combine the tahini in a small bowl with the lemon juice, garlic and a dash of salt and freshly ground pepper. Whisk to the consistency of honey, adding water or tahini as necessary.