This past weekend, Superbowl Sunday to be exact, we hosted a truly memorable dinner party.
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Around 7:30 that evening
With four kitty cats, two puppies, the most wonderful set of parents one could ever hope for, and a great friend acting as an officiate
We lit a couple of candles, exchanged rings, and said: “I do!”
Dinner included a favorite dish for everyone. Our officiate putting in an order for “Something with either butternut squash or asparagus.”
Of course!
I thumbed through Jerusalem. Every recipe is intriguing. Some are demanding and worthy of an afternoon of cooking. Others, like this spread, are incredibly simple without sacrificing on flavor.
“A dip that's fantastically popular with anyone who tries it,” is the description given in the book, and we couldn't have agreed more. The slightly bitter and salty tahini served as a beautiful compliment to the sweet roasted butternut squash and a hint of cinnamon
The key to this recipe is roasting the squash in a dish tightly covered with foil, protecting it from becoming brown or dry on the outside. It's best soft and tender.
Sesame seeds are scattered over the top. A drizzle of date syrup (or maple if date is difficult to source)
We served ours as an appetizer, with cut-up veggies and bread for dipping
Left-overs were wonderful in wraps during the week, or with a morning omelet
Enjoy!
xoxo
ps: More to come on our marriage and thank you(!) to everyone who has made a point of stopping us over the past couple of days. Taking a moment to say, “Congratulations!”
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~ Adapted from Jerusalem
Roasted Butternut Squash and Tahini Dip
Ingredients
- 1 very large butternut squash about 2 ½ lbs and cut into large chunks (~ 7 cups)
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 5 Tbsp tahini
- 2 small cloves garlic, crushed
- ½ cup Greek yogurt
- 1 tsp mixed black and white sesame seeds
- 1 ½ tsp date syrup
- 2 Tbsp chopped cilantro
- salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Spread the squash out in a medium roasting pan. Pour over the olive oil and sprinkle on the cinnamon and ½ teaspoon salt.
- Toss to combine and cover pan tightly with foil. Roast for 70 minutes, stirring once during cooking.
- Remove from the oven and let cool.
- Transfer the squash to a food processor, along with the tahini, yogurt, and garlic.
- Roughly pulse until combined into a rough paste, without the spread becoming smooth. (This can also be done by hand using a fork or potato masher)
- Spread the dip in a wavy pattern on a large flat plate. Sprinkle with the sesame seeds, drizzle over the syrup and sprinkle with cilantro.
2 Comments
Just to note quickly, I enjoyed using a potato masher to blend this by hand.
And I really liked the wedding part! 🙂
This looks delicious! I wish I knew how to take such awesome pictures of my food. I try to make recipe posts, but I’m still learning 🙂