Cooking for friends on a weeknight: Roasted butternut squash with roasted onions and fennel

For the first time in my adult life, I have become friends with my neighbor. I have lived in apartments before and never interacted with the people with whom I share my walls. However, this time around, I have befriended one of my neighbors who does neighborly things for me like critiques my Halloween costume before I go to a party and sometimes plays backgammon or the guitar with me. This week, my neighbor gave me a bottle of olive oil from his parent's farm in Jordan and a bag of Zatar, a spice for dipping pita bread. In return, I asked him over for a quick dinner. My plan was to go buy a roasted chicken and make a salad, but I was struck by a sudden urge to use my butternut squash that had been staring at me for a week straight.  The original recipe has a decidedly middle eastern flare, as the original dish is roasted squash and onions, topped with roasted pine nuts and a tahini sauce. I paired my roasted squash with a mezze style meal of pita with Zatar, hummus and a garlic-yogurt sauce. 

My inspiration comes from a Yotam Ottolenghi  recipe posted in the New York Times last fall. Yotam Ottolenghi is a London chef, originally from Jerusalem, who in addition to his very popular middle eastern restaurants, has a great series with the Guardian, posting mostly fresh, vegetarian recipes.I highly recommend you check out this series. His recipes are beautiful and inspiring and just in time for Thanksgiving to branch away from the usual American style side dishes. I'm dreaming of his Turkish inspired eggplant  and stuffed squash.

Sometimes Ottolenghi's recipes require too many ingredients to be an easy weeknight meal. However, this squash and onion recipe is simple, delicious and can be changed to suit what ingredients you have on hand. It's a nice template of roasted vegetables + fancy sauce for garnish and flavor. 

coat generously with olive oil, salt and pepper

This recipe can come together quickly if you have a normal sized oven that fits more than one rack and baking dish. However, I literally have a playhouse kitchen and my oven does not fit more than one dish at a time. I had to roast the squash and onions separately for forty minutes, but if you can do it all at one time, this is a quick and easy dish to pair with a grain or a pan fried protein like chicken or fish filet. 

If you're reading my blog, you're probably my friend and know this blog is an amateur affair. Maybe, dear reader, you've been to my apartment and seen the dearth of kitchen space in my studio apartment. (Here is when I expect you all to be impressed that I cook in spite of these overwhelming obstacles...just kidding) I am playing with my lighting options and where I photograph my food. This post was photographed outside my kitchen on my dining room table using warmer albeit less lighting in comparison the the jarring fluorescent lights of my kitchen.  If you have a strong opinion on lighting or my blog, let me know what you think.  

Roasted butternut squash, onions, and fennel with a garlic lemon sauce

Adapted from Yotam Ottolenghi's  recipe posted in the New York Times 

Total time: 60 minutes

Ingredients: 

Butternut squash

one onion, cut in half and slice

1-2 bulbs of fennel, washed and thinly sliced

olive oil

1 large clove of garlic, crushed in a garlic crusher or finely minced

2-3 tbs of yogurt

2-3 tbs of ricotta cheese

the juice of a whole lemon (about 3-4 tbs)

plenty of salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 400F

1. Wash the butternut squash, slice it in half, remove the seeds with a spoon. Cut each half into thin moon shaped slices. The peel of butternut softens with roasting  (or stewing) and you do not need to peel butternut squash. If you want thicker slices, when you place the slices on the baking sheet, you will place the squash balanced on its peel making it easier to soften the peel. 

2. Peel and halve the onions and fennel. Then cut the onions and fennel into thin slices. 

3. Place the squash in a large bowl, add 2 tbs of the olive oil, enough to coat the squash and well and season with salt and pepper. 

4. Spread the squash evenly on a baking sheet. Roast the squash for 20 minutes, then use a spatula to flip half way through. My squash baked for a total of 40 minutes, until it was soft and browning. 

5. Using the same bowl from the squash, place the onions and fennel in the bowl and coat with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place the onions in a roasting pan or on a baking sheet. The onions can roast in the same oven at 400F with the squash. The onions need about 20-30 minutes of roasting. You want them cooked through but not too browned. 

6. While the vegetables are roasting, in small bowl, combine the yogurt and ricotta, whipping with a fork until smooth and frothy. Then add the lemon juice and the crushed garlic. Whip again with a fork until smooth. Then season with salt and pepper. I seasoned my vegetables fairly liberally with salt and pepper so I seasoned my sauce with only pepper to let it have a prominently lemon flavor. Let the sauce sit and meld in the fridge. 

7. Once the squash and onions are cooked through, transfer the squash to the serving dish first. Arrange the squash as desired on the bottom and then arrange the onions on top of the squash. Using a spoon, drizzle the yogurt sauce over the vegetables. Theses are fresh Fall vegetables, so I did not drench my vegetables in the sauce. I reserved some of the sauce to use as a dip for our pita bread. 

8. You can serve this dish warm or at room temperature. 

Artfully arrange the vegetables

Drizzle with sauce