Roasted Squash with Yogurt, Walnuts, and Spiced Green Sauce

This dish, from Joshua McFadden’s Six Seasons: A New Way with Vegetables, is all good things. It is easy, relatively quick to make, beautiful on the plate, and delicious. It is equally at home as a weeknight sheet-pan meal and a fancy dinner party. The Spiced Green Sauce and the yogurt sauce are both variations on classic sauces that have been created across many cultures; the green sauce is closely related both to South American chimichurri and to Middle Eastern skhug, though this particular iteration came from Ava Gene’s.

Lots of olive oil in the roasting makes a lovely brown crust on the bottom of the squash. Using multiple kinds of squash makes for a more interesting presentation, of different shapes and subtle flavors on the plate.

Directions

Line a sieve with some dampened cheesecloth and set over a bowl. Put the yogurt in the cheesecloth and let it sit for at least 1 hour, so the whey drains out and the yogurt gets thick and creamy. If you prefer, you can use store-bought Greek yogurt instead of straining your own, though the texture will be somewhat different.
Mix the drained yogurt with the garlic, lemon zest, and 1/4 tsp salt, and set aside.

Heat the oven to 400° F. Trim off the top and bottom of the squash, then peel off the outer skin with a paring knife or sturdy vegetable peeler. (A tender skinned squash like Delicata may not need peeling, but a Butternut certainly will.)
Cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds and fibers. Slice the squash halves into 1/2 inch slices.
Toss the squash with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and a generous seasoning of salt and pepper. Spread out on a rimmed baking sheet, one layer deep, and roast until tender and nicely browned on the underside, 20-40 minutes depending on the squash.
In the meantime, make the green sauce. Toast the coriander, cumin, and cardamom seeds in a dry skillet over medium heat, shaking the pan frequently until they become fragrant, about 4 minutes. Put the chiles and garlic in a blender or food processor, and pulse a few times until they are fairly fine. Add the cilantro, parsley, toasted seeds, ground cloves, lemon zest, lemon juice, 1 teaspoon salt, and a few twists of black pepper. Pulse until all is finely chopped into a rough pureé. With the motor running, drizzle in the olive oil. Stop the blender before the sauce is completely smooth-you want a bit of texture. Taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning as desired with more salt, pepper, lemon juice, or spices. Remove the squash from the oven and allow it to cool for a few moments.

Sprinkle the squash slices with vinegar, and arrange on a platter or in a bowl. Drizzle or spoon the yogurt and green sauce over the squash, then scatter the toasted walnuts over the top. You will likely have extra green sauce, but it’s a great thing to keep in the fridge, to spoon over every.darn.thing.

Over to You

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