This is a recipe from the incredible Yotam Ottolenghi who has several restaurants in London.
Serves 6 to 8
This squash spread is very moreish and will keep in a jar in the fridge for several days. In which case, when you want to serve it, bring it back to room temperature before piling on pita bread or crusty bread like hummus.
Date syrup is a wonderful sweetener and has a great depth of richness. If you can’t find it, don’t worry, you can do without it but it adds huge dimension to this dish it is also available on Amazon and is not expensive.
1 very large butternut squash (2lbs roughly) peeled and cut into chunks
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
Just under 1/3 cup tahini paste (The recipe says 70g, so I am trying to convert it.)
Just under 1 cup of greek Yoghurt (The recipe says 120g)
2 small cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1 tsp mixed black and white sesame seeds (or just white if you don’t have black)
1 1/2 tsp date syrup
2 tbsp chopped cilantro (fresh coriander)
Hest the oven to 350F. Spread the squash out on a medium sized baking tray, pour over the olive oil and sprinkle on the cinnamon and salt.
Mix well, cover the tray lightly with aluminum foil and roast for about 70 mins, stirring once during the cooking. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.
transfer the cooled squash to the bowl of a food processor along with the tahini, yoghurt and garlic.
Roughly pulse so that everything is combined into a coarse paste- you don’t want it too smooth.
You can also do this by hand using a fork or a masher.
To serve, spread the butternut in a wavy pattern over a flat plate and sprinkle with the sesame seeds, a drizzle of the date syrup and the chopped cilantro.