Warm Butternut and Chickpea Salad with Tahini

You know the kind of recipe that you see and can't wait to try- but then it winds up being a while, and you hope it lives up to the hype you've built up in your head. That was this dish for me. I first saw it on A Year in the Kitchen almost 6 months ago. Since then I've seen it on many other blogs, including the one where it was originally adapted from, Orangette.

I finally had all the ingredients at one time for this and was dying to make it. I saved it for a family dinner and hoped everyone would enjoy it. But merely enjoying it is an understatement. I actually feel like I've missed out by not making this all winter squash season long. It is seriously so good that I could eat it day after day- not that there were any leftovers, which is just sad. I wish I had some right now.

I already knew that I loved all of the components of this, but together it's just an amazing combination. My brother in law described it as "exotic." My own thoughts was that while that was true, I loved how you could could also taste the familar flavors, seperately, in this. I would later re-read the post on Orangette and see that Molly states, "It's a little bit exotic but also pleasingly familar, and totally, totally delicious."

I made this following the recipe on Orangette, but have since discovered my adaptation has similarities to Ashlee's take on A Year in the Kitchen. My way actually wound up being quite a mixture of the two. One noteable change I made was omitting the red raw onion. I can't eat raw onion, and Sage doesn't care for cooked red onion, so I roasted some yellow onion with the squash. I also reduced the dressing, which was plenty. This salad is to be eaten room temperature, but I made it a good bit earlier than everything else we were having for dinner,and it had gotten rather cold. I warmed it ever so slightly before serving.

Warm Butternut and Chickpea Salad with Tahini
adapted from Orangette, seen on A Year in the Kitchen

for the salad:
1 medium butternut squash about 2 1/2 lbs (I actually used 2 small ones,) peeled, seeded and cut into 1 inch pieces
1/2 small yellow onion, chopped
1 medium garlic clove, pressed
1/8 tsp nutmeg
kosher salt
2 tbsp olive oil
1 (16 oz.) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup coarsley chopped cilantro leaves

for the dressing:
1 small clove garlic, minced or pressed
juice of one small lemon (2 tbsps)
2 tbsp tahini
1 tbsp water
1 tbsp olive oil

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Combine squash, onion, garlic, nutmeg and salt in a large bowl. Drizzle with the olive oil and toss to coat. Spread onto a baking sheet, and roast for about 20 minutes or until squash is tender. Remove from oven and let cool.

Meanwhile make the dressing. In a small bowl wisk together the garlic and the lemon juice. Add tahini and wisk to blend. Add the water and olive oil, wish to blend.

To assemble, combine the cooled squash mixture, chickpeas and cilantro in a mixing bowl. Add the dressing and carefully toss. Serve room temperature (or slightly warm.)