Roasted Butternut Squash with Red Onion, Tahini and Za'atar

This roasted butternut squash recipe makes an excellent Thanksgiving side dish, but it's simple enough to make for weeknight dinners, too. It's gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan, and packed with Middle Eastern flavors.

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This really flavorful vegan recipe is bursting with fall flavor. It works just as well for a holiday side dish as it does for weeknight dinners. Bonus: it's gluten-free and vegetarian, too.

The flavors of tahini and za'atar combine to make a vegan side dish that will wow everyone at the table. Regardless of their respective diets, all of your guests will love how good this tastes, and won't notice what's 'missing.'

You don't even have to peel the butternut squash for this recipe. A huge timesaver! We are roasting the butternut squash at a very high heat, so that is going to break down the skin for us, and it will get nice and brown and add a lot of flavor and texture.

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• Ingredients
• Instructions
• FAQs
• Related Recipes
• Recipe

Ingredients

• Butternut squash: Look for a large butternut squash that is heavy for its size with no soft or brown spots.
• Red onion: Choose medium-sized onions that are firm to the touch, with no mushy spots coming through.
• Tahini: Now, I know what you're thinking. You're saying, "Debra, I am not gonna buy a giant, expensive jar of tahini for a recipe that only calls for three tablespoons." And you're right. I wouldn't ask you to do that. Trader Joe's carries a small jar of organic tahini that is not expensive. And once you make this sauce, you'll want to put it on everything. All. The. Time.
• Za'atar: We'll sprinkle the za'atar over the top after the vegetables are roasted to add great flavor and aroma, and a bit of tang from the sumac in it.
• Lemon juice: Will be the base of our tahini sauce.
• Garlic: We'll smash the garlic and let it sit in the tahini sauce, so you get the essence of garlic, but not a strong flavor.
• Olive oil, salt, water: We need the olive oil for roasting, the salt for seasoning, and the water to thin out the tahini sauce so it is easy to drizzle over this deliciousness!

Instructions

Adapted from Jerusalem by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi.

Preheat oven to 475 degrees.

Chop the butternut squash into chunks about 1 inch think. Leave the peel intact.

Chop the red onion into wedges about ¼ inch thick.

Divide squash and onions between two sheet pans. Drizzle with olive oil and kosher salt and toss to coat. Spread out evenly on pan. Make sure the squash is skin side down.

Roast in the oven for about 30 minutes. You want the skins and the edges of the butternut squash to be nice and brown, almost blackened. Some of the very edges will get crisp and dark. Check on the onions during the roasting to be sure they aren't getting overdone. Remove them if necessary.

While the vegetables are roasting, make the sauce. Add the tahini, lemon juice, water, crushed garlic clove and a pinch of salt to a small bowl.

Whisk together until smooth. The mixture might look curdled at first, but keep going. It will come together and thicken up. If it's too thick, add a bit more water. It should be the consistency of honey, not hummus.

Remove squash and onions from the oven and transfer to a serving plate. Just before serving, drizzle with tahini sauce and sprinkle za'atar over the top.

FAQs

• What is tahini? Tahini is a paste that's made from sesame seeds and used throughout Middle Eastern cooking. You've probably had it without knowing - it's what makes hummus so creamy and delicious. It's sold in jars near the nut butters or with the Middle Eastern foods.
• What is za'atar? Za'atar is a Middle Eastern spice blend made with dried thyme, oregano, sesame seeds and other spices, but the secret kick is the sumac. Put it on any kind of roasted veggies, or add it to salad dressings or marinades. You can find it at international markets or Middle Eastern food stores, you can also buy za'atar spice on Amazon.
• Do you have to peel butternut squash before roasting? No, you don't. You can eat the skin of roasted butternut squash and all winter squashes. Butternut squash does have a thicker skin, so many people remove it. In general, the thinner the skin, the more tender and easier it is to eat. A younger, smaller butternut squash will probably have a more tender skin. But if you roast any winter squash for long enough at a high enough heat, the skin will cook nicely and be tasty.

Related Recipes

• This Butternut Squash Lasagna makes a perfect meatless Monday meal. It uses canned butternut squash and no-boil noodles.
• Another no-peel, vegan squash recipe, Harissa Roasted Butternut Squash Salad with Avocado and Toasted Squash Seeds will spice up a weeknight dinner.

Recipe

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