Description
Roasted acorn squash wedges pair with lemony pinto beans and a punchy cilantro-jalapeño zhoug for a vibrant, flavor-packed side dish.
Ingredients
Scale
For the zhoug:
- 1 bunch cilantro, about 3–4 oz, roughly chopped
- 1–2 jalapeño peppers, membrane removed and roughly chopped
- 1 ½ tsp ground cumin
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
- ½ tsp salt
- 1/3 cup olive oil
For the acorn squash:
- 1 acorn squash
- Salt and pepper
- 2 tbsp olive oil
For the pinto beans:
-
1 clove garlic
-
2 tbsp olive oil
-
2 cups cooked pinto beans (see “master recipe”)
-
1 lemon, zested
-
Salt and pepper
Instructions
For the zhoug:
- Place the cilantro, jalapeño, cumin, garlic, salt, and half the olive oil in the bowl of a food processor. Blitz, adding more olive oil as needed to form a paste. Taste and add salt as needed.
For the acorn squash:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Slice the squash in half, remove the stem (if there is one), seeds, and pith–a grapefruit spoon is helpful. Cut each half into wedges, about 10-12 in total.
- Place on a baking sheet, season with salt and pepper and toss with the olive oil to thoroughly coat the wedges.
- Roast until nicely browned on one side–about 15-20 minutes. Turn the wedges and cook tender, about another 10 minutes.
For the pinto beans:
- Sauté the garlic in the olive oil, add the beans, and finely grate the zest of the lemon over the mixture. Season with salt and pepper.
To assemble:
- Place the acorn squash wedges on a platter, scatter the pinto beans around them, and dress with spoonfuls of the zhoug. Serve with the remaining zhoug on the side.
Notes
Zhoug is a Middle Eastern spicy cilantro sauce. Start with one jalapeño and feel free to add more if you’d like more heat. The zhoug can be made a day ahead and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Any leftover zhoug is perfect with other roasted vegetables, fried eggs, or grilled chicken or fish.