Butternut Squash and Chickpea Salad

Finally a recipe that uses the namesake of this blog as an ingredient! This is another favorite recipe of mine, probably because of the tahini-lemon juice dressing. It's also surprisingly filling, which means there's potential for lots of delicious leftovers. 

First, peel and chop up the butternut squash. I like to cut the neck/body of the squash into disks, then cut the bulb-y part in half to scoop out the seeds, and finally cut the bulb into rings. Cut each disk and ring into 1 inch (or so, I'm usually never as accurate as I would like to be) pieces.


We're gonna roast the squash until it is nice and soft, so mix it with some olive oil, salt, garlic, and maybe cumin.


The other two stars of this salad are chickpeas (who would have guessed?), and green onions. While your squash is roasting, drain and rinse your chickpeas and dice your onions.



My baking sheet is rather tiny, so there wasn't much of an opportunity for the squash to brown nicely since they were so crowded. But the roasted squash and garlic combination is really good.


I forgot to take pictures of the assembly of the dressing (boo), but know that it is super delicious and easy to make. Pour it over everything else, and mix together!


Recipe slightly adapted from Smitten Kitchen.

For the salad:
2 lb butternut squash
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 tsp cumin (optional)
1 Tbsp olive oil
Salt
1 can (1.5 cups) chickpeas
3-5 green onions, diced
2 Tbsp parsley, chopped (optional)

For the dressing:
1 small garlic clove, minced
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup lemon juice
3 Tbsp tahini
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp water


Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Peel and chop your butternut squash into 1 inch chunks. In a large bowl, mix together the squash, olive oil, garlic, a pinch or two of salt, and cumin (if using) until the squash is evenly coated. Pour out onto a baking sheet, and try to arrange the squash into a single layer. Roast in the oven until squash is tender, about 25 minutes. I usually take the sheet out and stir the squash once during the cooking time. Once cooked, let the squash cool for a few minutes.

While the squash is is in the oven, combine the chickpeas, green onions, and parsley in a large bowl.

You can also make the dressing while the squash is cooking! Combine the garlic, salt, lemon juice, tahini, and olive oil in a small bowl. Whisk until smooth, then add the water 1 Tbsp at a time until the desired consistency is reached.

Finally, add the squash to the bowl with the chickpeas and green onions, and pour the dressing over the top. Toss to combine.

(I'd say this salad is even better the next day, or a few days later. The dressing has a chance to really soak into the squash.)

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