There are some recipes that stick with you your whole life. This is one of them. I first made this 10 years ago to try to impress a date, and I remember the recipe more than I remember the guy. It’s in the top 5 of my favourite recipes of all time. It’s my go-to recipe when I want to impress a date, serve a vegetarian main, or make a great side dish through fall and winter. It’s perfect served warm, but the leftovers are great straight from the fridge.
I’ve added a few changes to Ottolenghi’s recipe over the years, so you can try the original here. I peel the squash, add much more lemon, replace the pine nuts with less expensive walnuts, and bloom the za’atar in olive oil. I encourage you to play with the recipe.
Method
Roast the squash and onions
- Preheat oven to 475°F
- Peel your butternut squash using a vegetable peeler; if you are getting a new harvest squash in September/October and the skin is still thin, you can leave it on (I don’t like it, it can get leathery while roasting)
-
Cut your butternut squash into roughly 2-1/2” long x 3/4” wide wedges.
- First, lay down your squash on your cutting board so it runs lengthwise from left to right. Cut off the top and bottom, then divide it into 3 or 4 equal lengths roughly 2-1/2” long
- Use a spoon to remove the seeds where necessary, you can save these to roast like pumpkin seeds
- Stand each piece up so the flat side is down, and cut into 4 or 6 pieces, depending on how big your squash is. You want finished pieces around 3/4” thick.
- Cut your onions in half, then into a similar size as the squash, this will be 4, 6, or 8 pieces depending on how big your onions are
- In a large bowl, toss the onions and squash with 45g olive oil and 5g salt; if you toss this right on the baking sheet you’ll have a harder time cleaning up the baking sheet later. It’s easier to wash the bowl.
- Transfer to a single layer on a baking sheet
- Add 4 ice cubes to the baking sheet; the ice cubes will melt instantly in the oven and create steam. The steam will help the squash cook faster, so it will be tender by the time it’s crispy.
- Bake for 30-40 minutes, until the squash has crispy edges and is cooked through, you can test this by seeing if a paring knife inserts without resistance
- If the onions begin to char before the squash is ready, remove them from them oven and put the squash back in
- Allow to cool to room temperature
Toast the nuts
- In a frying pan, add 15g of olive oil and the nuts
- Turn the heat on medium and cook until the nuts are deeply toasted. For walnuts and almonds this will take 8-10 minutes. For pistachios or pine nuts this will take 3-5 minutes.
- Remove the nuts from the heat to stop cooking
Toast the spices
- In the same pan used for the nuts, add 15g olive oil and heat until shimmering
- Add the za’atar and heat for 30 seconds until fragrant and immediately remove from heat to a bowl
- This is an optional step, you can put the spice on dry
Make the dressing
- In a medium bowl, add the tahini, lemon juice, water, garlic, a pinch of salt, and whisk until combined
-
Adjust the taste and texture as needed, it should have the texture of honey
- Too loose: add tahini
- Too thick: add lemon juice or water (use water if it’s already quite bright or tangy, but I generally add more lemon)
Assemble
- In a serving bowl or platter, arrange the squash and onions
- Drizzle the tahini dressing on top
- Sprinkle the nuts, spoon the za’atar, and parsley on top
Serve warm or at room temperature. Leftovers are great cold.
Notes:
Pine nuts are very expensive. While they are delicious, I don’t think they are worth the $20 extra they add to this recipe.
You can use any robust squash, like acorn or pumpkin, as well. Honey nut squash would be very good.