Are you a traditionalist at Thanksgiving, wanting the comfort of your favorite dishes each year? Or are you adventurous, eagerly branching out to try something new?
Whichever camp you find yourself in, chances are you will be seated at a table with someone from the competing camp. Or maybe there is a little bit of both camps in you.
To make everyone happy, my solution is to play with the side dishes. Keep the turkey (for you meat eaters) and stuffing, a traditional side or two, and pumpkin and pecan pie. But add something new this year, some new flavors or vegetables -- nothing too wild, but just enough to keep things interesting.
To help you with this, I'm going to give you a week of side dishes starting today. I have five side dishes to share, all with vegetables that are in season and available at the farmers' market now. They'll shake things up a bit and I'll get them to you in time to hit the market next weekend.
For the vegetarians, a couple of these sides, along with some mashed potatoes and stuffing, would round out a meal. If you want a heartier main course, serve them along side that cauliflower tart or vegetable shepherd's pie).
If my ability keeps pace with my ambition, I may even have a dessert recipe for you at the end of the week.
This first side dish recipe is derived from a recipe in Plenty, one of my favorite cookbooks for party food these days (see past posts here and here). We made it for a first course for a dinner party last weekend and I loved the flavors. The warmth of the cardamom was fantastic with the butternut squash and the contrast with the cool flavors of the tangy yogurt sauce, lime, hot peppers, and cilantro elevated the dish beyond the ordinary.
The preparation involved brushing the individual pieces of squash with the cardamom mixture, sectioning limes, making a yogurt sauce, and separately scattering on limes, hot peppers, and cilantro. The presentation was lovely to serve on individual plates but a bit too fiddly to serve with a weeknight meal or on the buffet at Thanksgiving.
So I switched it up, cutting the squash into large chunks, tossing them with the spiced and roasting them. To simplify the accompaniments, I combined all of the flavors into one sauce. Granted the result was not as pretty, but it was simpler to prepare, easy to serve family style, and maybe even a bit tastier because each bite was an explosion of all the flavors. Try it!
Cardamom Roasted Butternut Squash with Lime-Yogurt Drizzle
Depending on the heat of the pepper you use, the dish may have a bit of a kick to it. Since spiciness is not a common flavor on traditional Thanksgiving tables, you may want to warn your dinner companions.
The yogurt sauce can be made up to a day early and the butternut squash can be roasted a few days ahead. Just undercook it so that when it reheats it doesn't get too soft. When the pan cools, wrap it tightly with plastic wrap. Reheat it just before serving dinner.
Adapted from Plenty
Serves 6 as a side dish
30 minutes preparation time
30 minutes roasting time
For roasting the squash:
1 large butternut squash
1 1/2 tablespoons cardamom pods
1 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt
a few grinds of pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
For the yogurt drizzle:
1/2 cup Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons tahini
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
1 jalapeno, minced
2/3 cup cilantro leaves, chopped
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Trim the top and bottom off the butternut squash. Set the squash on its bottom and slice it down lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds and discard them.
Peel the butternut squash and dice it into large chunks. I left mine quite large, maybe 2 inches per side so that they would retain some shape when roasted. Arrange the squash in a single layer in a roasting pan.
To prepare the spice mixture, pound the cardamom pods with a mortar and pestle until the pods crack open. Pour out the pods onto a cutting board or plate and separate the pods from the seeds inside. (Granted, this process seems like it will be very time consuming, but it only took a few minutes and the resulting fresh cardamom is worth the effort.) Return the seeds to the mortar and pound again until the seeds are finely ground.
Empty the ground seeds into a small bowl. Add the allspice, salt, and pepper and whisk together. Add the olive oil and whisk again. Pour the spice mixture over the squash and mix it with your hands or a wooden spoon so that it thoroughly coats the squash pieces. Roast until the squash is tender when pierced with a knife, but not mushy. The roasting time will depend on the size of the squash pieces, but count on somewhere between 20 and 40 minutes.
While the squash is roasting, prepare the yogurt sauce. Whisk the yogurt and tahini together with the lime juice. Add the cilantro and jalapeno and mix again. Taste and add salt and pepper to taste. The dressing will be quite tart, but resist the urge to temper it because it is excellent with the sweetness of the squash.
When the squash has finished roasting, arrange it onto a serving platter or into a large bowl, taking care to keep the pieces intact. The squash can be served hot or at room temperature. Just before serving, drizzle the yogurt sauce over the top or serve it in a small pitcher on the side.
Sound so simple and so good
Posted by: Sylvia@bascooking | November 11, 2012 at 11:55 AM
Everyone loves it when people get together and share thoughts.
Great website, keep it up!
Posted by: Curt | December 14, 2012 at 03:43 PM