Roasted Delicata Squash with Peanut, Sesame and Squash Seed Dukkah

Roasted Delicata Squash with Peanut, Sesame and Squash Seed Dukkah
Raymond McCrea Jones for The New York Times
Total Time
1 hour
Rating
4(157)
Notes
Read community notes

Steven Satterfield, an Atlanta chef with a deep love for green peanut oil, developed this recipe for a coming book on goobers from Short Stack Editions. Green peanuts are nothing more than raw peanuts. They have a fresh, vegetal flavor, and retain their greenness when cold-pressed into oil. Mr. Satterfield's spin on the Egyptian condiment called dukkah centers on peanuts and benne seeds (the preferred term in the South for sesame seeds), two regulars in many Southern kitchens. The spice and nut mixture brings life to delicata squash, whose tender skin doesn’t need peeling. You can substitute olive oil for the green oil when roasting the squash, and the dukkah will keep in an airtight container in the pantry for a month. Pull it out to sprinkle over greens, meat, fish or grilled bread. —Kim Severson

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Ingredients

Yield:4 to 6 servings
  • 2medium or 3 small delicata squash (about 2½ pounds total)
  • 2teaspoons kosher salt
  • 6tablespoons green peanut oil
  • ½cup sesame seeds, toasted
  • ½cup plain, dry-roasted peanuts
  • 1tablespoon ground coriander
  • 1tablespoon ground cumin
  • 1tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

324 calories; 26 grams fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 12 grams monounsaturated fat; 9 grams polyunsaturated fat; 21 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams dietary fiber; 1 gram sugars; 7 grams protein; 429 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat oven to 350 degrees. Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven.

  2. Step 2

    Place the squash in a large bowl and rinse well, then rub vigorously with a kitchen towel to remove any traces of dirt in the crevices. Transfer to a cutting board and cut each squash in half crosswise, leaving the skin on. Place each half cut-side down, and carefully slice in half lengthwise. Scrape the seeds and surrounding flesh into a medium bowl and set aside.

  3. Step 3

    Cut the squash quarters into ½-inch cubes. In a large bowl, toss the cubes with 1 teaspoon of the salt and 4 tablespoons of the peanut oil. Add the remaining peanut oil to the bowl of squash seeds and toss to coat.

  4. Step 4

    Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats. Arrange the squash cubes in a single layer on one of the sheets; on the other, arrange the squash seeds and press firmly into a single layer, making sure to mash the pockets of squash flesh as flat as possible. Place the cubed squash on the lower rack of oven, and the seeds on the upper rack. Start checking after about 20 minutes. but it can take up to a half-hour for the squash to become tender, the seeds to turn lightly brown and the surrounding flesh to dry. Remove both pans from oven and let cool.

  5. Step 5

    In a food processor, combine the roasted squash seeds, sesame seeds, peanuts, coriander, cumin, black pepper and the remaining teaspoon of salt. Process until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Transfer the dukkah to a small bowl. When ready to serve, reheat the squash until hot all the way through, 7 to 10 minutes. Toss the hot squash with 4 to 6 tablespoons of the dukkah and serve.

Ratings

4 out of 5
157 user ratings
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Private Notes

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Cooking Notes

I've never cooked with delicata squash before, but snagged a few at the farmers market. I cooked this according to the recipe, maybe even longer roasting time. It was tasty; I loved the texture and taste of the roasted seed topping. That was clever and glad I tried it. The skins on the squash were still a little tough. The squash were beautiful, but I wonder if they were a little mature? Still, an impressive dish to serve alongside a beef roast.

Adding fresh pomegranate seeds for some acid really made this delicious. Highly recommend you do too. We also cut the oil in have because good god the recipe calls for a lot of oil. Delish

Delicious. It makes a very substantial side because the dukka is essentially almost a sesame-peanut-squash seed butter. Not quite, but as you mix the dukka with the squash, those oils permeate the squash. It is one of those dishes that tastes uniform, so think of it as small, rich, little treat on the plate.

This was a huge hit. As part of a clean-out-the-pantry sinner I served it atop farro, with green lentils and sweet corn sautéed in butter with shallots along as well. A bitter green and some acid would have made it even better but it was a delicious simple dinner.

I cooked it and used olive oil instead of peanut oil. It was easy to cook, and amazing. A huge, huge hit with our dinner crowd.

Could I use olive oil or is roasting in the peanut oil essential to the flavor?

I'm familiar with Acorn squash and Butternut squash but what is Delicata squash & where can I find it?

I've never cooked with delicata squash before, but snagged a few at the farmers market. I cooked this according to the recipe, maybe even longer roasting time. It was tasty; I loved the texture and taste of the roasted seed topping. That was clever and glad I tried it. The skins on the squash were still a little tough. The squash were beautiful, but I wonder if they were a little mature? Still, an impressive dish to serve alongside a beef roast.

This was delicious! And I love that the whole squash is used…. I made it to go along with a somali- style fuul (another recipe from this site), and served it all with farro as recommended by other reviewers. Fabulous!

This was tasty but a little bland, using conventional peanut oil because here in the Boston area I can’t easily find and I’ve never seen green peanut oil. I like the idea of putting it over Farro or with some grain, and a contrasting fatty meat. We had lamb potstickers as a complement and that was a nice contrast. I think the suggestions in the other notes which I should’ve looked at ahead of time, our good ones to add some parsley or other flavors.

My first taste of delicata squash. This is an amazing and great recipe. The squash cooked perfectly in oil, sweet and not in any way dry. The seasoning on top was wonderful. In the rare season that delicata is available at my farmers market, I will make again! Not sure that you can substitute a different squash, like butternut, but this recipe as is, is delicious.

Dry--served with yoghurt over farro, which helped. I will add parsley next time.

Question: you don’t shell the squash seeds? You just grind the whole seed in the shell?

Found the dukkah to be quite bland with a somewhat flax-y texture as seeds did not process uniformly. Will not be making this dish again.

Adding fresh pomegranate seeds for some acid really made this delicious. Highly recommend you do too. We also cut the oil in have because good god the recipe calls for a lot of oil. Delish

Delicious! I took Paige's suggestion and also cooked farro, serving it all with farro and a grilled flat iron steak. Only made half of the dukkah, as we're just two, and the balance is in the freezer so we can use it over time. My picky husband (carnivore extraordinaire!) really enjoyed the recipe!

This was a huge hit. As part of a clean-out-the-pantry sinner I served it atop farro, with green lentils and sweet corn sautéed in butter with shallots along as well. A bitter green and some acid would have made it even better but it was a delicious simple dinner.

makes a lot of yummy dukkah; enough for leftovers for other purposes. We thought it was too peppery so we added more peanuts & sesame seeds.

Delicious. It makes a very substantial side because the dukka is essentially almost a sesame-peanut-squash seed butter. Not quite, but as you mix the dukka with the squash, those oils permeate the squash. It is one of those dishes that tastes uniform, so think of it as small, rich, little treat on the plate.

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Credits

Adapted from Steven Satterfield, Miller Union, Atlanta

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