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I cannot begin to tell you how much I LOVE this dish. It may not be prettiest platter ever placed on your table, but it won’t last long anyway. I was lucky to get several shots before devouring each and every morsel myself. I snapped pictures from one side of the dish because I was eating from the other. Piece by piece they all disappeared and then I was forced to share with my husband. He’s one lucky guy.
This recipe was published in the wonderful, colorful Jerusalem: A Cookbook by Ottolenghi and Tamimi. After reading blog post after blog post about this interesting cookbook, I finally had to have one for myself. I’ve enjoyed reading it cover to cover and can’t wait to try more recipes. Nice of everybody to try it out for me before I had to buy it. Foodies are the best!
I couldn’t find the spice blend za’atar in our local grocery stores so I decided to make my own. The recipes researched all called for sumac, and I couldn’t find that either. I went ahead with the recipe and just omitted the sumac. (I have since ordered sumac from Williams-Sonoma) My husband and I are both big fans of tahini but if you are not, you may want to serve it on the side. As you probably know tahini paste is made from sesame seeds and comes in many varieties. I used what I had on hand, a jar from Woodstock Farms. Use any leftover jarred tahini to make homemade Hummus.
I made a few other changes to the original recipe as noted below. Our slightly modified version was really fantastic and I will make this again, and again, and try other vegetables as well. I am a huge fan of roasted onions and was surprised how perfectly the butternut squash and onion compliment one another. Please make this soon – you’re going to love it.
Roasted butternut squash & red onion with tahini & za’atar
1 large butternut squash, cut into 3/4 by 2 1/2 inch wedges
(Check out THIS post on Simply Recipes for a great tutorial on peeling and slicing butternut squash)
2 large red onions, cut into 1 1/2 inch wedges
3 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
3 1/2 tablespoons tahini paste
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons water (plus more if needed)
1 glove garlic, minced
3 1/2 tablespoons pine nuts (don’t skip the pine nuts – they are great in this dish)
1 tablespoon za’atar (I used a combination of thyme, salt and toasted sesame seeds)
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
Sea salt
Freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon honey (not in original recipe)
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Combine the squash and onion in a large rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with 3 tablespoons olive oil and toss to coat Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt and freshly ground black pepper. Spread the vegetables in a single layer and roast in the oven for about 30 minutes. Check the onions and remove if you fear they will overcook. Continue cooking another 10 minutes under the squash is tender and the onions are charred. Remove from the oven and allow to cool while preparing the tahini sauce.
In a small bowl combine the tahini, lemon juice, water, garlic, honey and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Whisk until combined. Add more water or tahini if needed to achieve a consistency similar to honey.
Pour the remaining olive oil in a small skillet and heat on medium low. Add the pine nuts and 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook for a few minutes or until the nuts begin to turn golden brown. Remove the pine nuts from the heat and place in a small clean bowl to stop them from cooking.
Spread the roasted vegetables on a platter and drizzle the tahini sauce on top. Sprinkle with the pine nuts and their olive oil, the za’atar and parsley. Serve.
(recipe adapted from Jerusalem, a Cookbook)
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I just came back from taking our fur children for a walk. They have tired of the long winter weather as much as we have. Poor things, their tongues were hanging out and they were ready to come home. Maybe they’ll sleep better tonight, we can only hope!
What are you up to this weekend? Anything fun and delicious on the menu, maybe on the grill? I hope you have wonderful spring weather and thanks so much for stopping by!
Tricia
Sarah @ Running on Brie
This looks amazing! Tahini is one of my favorite things in the world- and what a great idea to pair it with butternut squash and red onions. Next time you're looking for sumac, I got some at Whole Foods a few months back.
Liz-Dennis
We had this for dinner tonight, and both of us thoroughly enjoyed every bite!! I used tahini we'd received as a gift when we were in Greece last fall. I'd been looking for some good ways to use it…and butternut squash are a favorite. Thanks for your inspiring posts. Cousin Liz
Liz-Dennis
Tricia, I tried this recipe tonight for our dinner, and it was as delicious as it was beautiful. When we visited Greece, new friends gave us some of their local tahini, so I used that in the recipe; and butternut squash is a favorite. (One year we had over 30 squash–from our tiny yard.) Thanks so much for your inspiring posts. Cousin Liz
Daniela Grimburg
Sounds and looks so beautiful.<br />The perfect spring treat, colorful and tasty!
Indrฤ
I just love the colours. Looks so tasty and healthy too. Sadly I hadn't bough squash this week ๐ saving for the future.
Anna and Liz Recipes
What a beautiful dish!! I love all the vegetables and the tahini in there sounds really good! Never made anything like this before. And, the book sounds really interesting. Thanks for sharing!
Bianca @ Confessions of a Chocoholic
I think it actually looks great – I was just about to say that it looks like it belongs in the Jerusalem cookbook! Love all the colors and flavors in one dish.
Wendy
This dish looks delicious…all those roasted vegetable colors! My daughter was in Israel last summer and came back with a deep love of za'atar (and a large spice jar filled with it). She is very picky about which recipes she is willing to use it in because we haven't found an American version that she likes as much. Penzy's and The Spice House both carry it online and in the stores.
Angie Schneider
This looks AMAZING, Tricia. The contrasting colours, and the flavours…totally my kind of dinner.
David
It's hard to make a plate of vegetables look amazing, but these look pretty good to me. Great flavour combinations, ?Tricia. I think I'll be having these over the weekend.
Maureen | Orgasmic Chef
I'm a fan of sumac, I hope you like it when it arrives. I had butternut and onions tonight with dinner but I didn't fancy them up like this. Now I wish I had.
Elzbieta Hester
I would start and stop when all gone…my type of a dish! Beautiful shots! ๐ ela@GrayApron
belleau kitchen
wow, how can a plate of vegetables looks so sparkly and yummy… I can imagine this layered onto a puff-pastry pizza!… a gorgeous dish. x
Monica
I think this looks amazing. It's just the kind of food I need to balance out all my treats. : ) Have heard so many great things about these books..need to take a closer look for sure!
Cheri Savory Spoon
Beautiful dish Tricia, I have this cookbook and it is definitely one of my favorites.
Chris Scheuer
I think it's beautiful Tricia. My daughter made this for my birthday. So good!!! We loved it too. The colors are lovely. If you have any Middle Eastern delis or markets they'll almost always have za'atar. I think you'll love this with that added flavor!
Sue/the view from great island
Fabulous! I haven't tried this recipe yet, it looks so pretty. I'm planning to make my own za'atar this week!
Abbe@This is How I Cook
Tricia, I must be the only one that has not had success with this dish! I think I sliced my squash too thin and then it got too soft. Will do it again, because I love za'atar. If you have a Whole Foods, they do sell it. Just watch for mixtures that contain salt or cumin, as the real stuff doesn't have it! Love the photos!
Big Dude
"It may not be prettiest platter ever placed on your table" – actually, my first reaction was just the opposite as I thought it looked very good and I believe I would enjoy it.