Roasted Butternut Squash Dip
1 small butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into ВЅ to 1-inch pieces (you will need 2 cups)
1 tablespoon olive oil, plus 2 tablespoons for dip
1ВЅ tablespoons tahini
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed
Вј teaspoon smoked paprika
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- Preheat the oven to 400В°F. Place the butternut squash on a foil-lined sheet pan and drizzle with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Roast for 20 minutes, or until the squash is fork-tender, turning over halfway through cooking.
- Combine the roasted squash, the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, tahini, lemon juice, garlic, paprika, salt and pepper in a food processor and blend until well combined.
- Serve warm, or refrigerate and serve cold later.
NOTES: Pressed for time? Many grocery stores stock butternut squash that’s already peeled and cut into pieces. Very often in the fall you can find butternut squash puree in some of the higher-end markets. It won’t be roasted (so you won’t have that same caramelized flavor), but it will still work well in this recipe. You could do the same with pumpkin puree. Because these purees might have a bit more water in them, you’d just want to add in your olive oil slowly, keeping an eye on the thickness to get your desired consistency—you may not need all of the olive oil.
VARIATIONS: Pumpkin or sweet potatoes would be fine substitutes for the butternut squash.
