ROASTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH (Pumpkin) AND RED ONION WITH TAHINI AND ZA’ATAR
(Recipe by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi taken from ‘Jerusalem’
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 1 large butternut pumpkin
- (1.1kg in total) cut into 2cm x 6cm wedges
- 2 red onions, cut into 3cm wedges
- 50 ml olive oil
- 3 ½ tbsp light tahini paste
- 1 11/2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 small garlic clove, crushed
- 30g pine nuts
- 1 tbsp za’atar
- 1 tbsp roughly chopped flat-leaf parsley
- Maldon sea salt and black pepper
Method
Preheat the oven to 240C/220C fan.
Put the pumpkin and onion in a large mixing bowl, add 3 tablespoons of oil, 1 teaspoon of salt and some black pepper and toss well. Spread on a baking sheet with the skin facing down and roast in the oven for 30 – 40 minutes until the vegetables have taken on some colour and are cooked through. Keep an eye on the onions as they might cook faster than the squash and need to be removed earlier. Remove from the oven.
To make the sauce place the tahini in a small bowl along with the lemon juice, 2 tablespoons of water, the garlic and ¼ teaspoon of salt. Whisk until the sauce is the consistency of honey, adding more water or tahini if necessary. (I have sometimes added a teaspoon or two of maple syrup to make a slightly sweeter sauce).
Pour the remaining oil into a small frying pan and place on a low – medium heat. Add the pine nuts, along with ½ teaspoon of salt and cook for 2 minutes, stirring often, until the nuts are golden brown. Remove from the heat and transfer to a small bowl, along with the oil, to stop the cooking.
To serve, spread the vegetables out on a large serving platter and drizzle over the tahini. Sprinkle the pine nuts and their oil on top, followed by the za’atar and parsley.