Roasted Squash and Cauliflower with Balsamic Tahini Sauce

I tried growing butternut squash for the first time this year, not really expecting it to succeed. Wouldn’t you know it, my one little plant, which had looked so innocent as a seedling, completely took over my garden bed.  This is how I’ll be cooking most of the harvest.  The sauce carmelizes a little as it bakes, and the little-sweet, little-salty flavor pairs really well with the roasted veggies.  It won’t look like you have enough sauce for this amount of veggies, but the sauce has a very strong flavor and will mingle with the juices from the veggies as it cooks, so less sauce is better in this case.  Sometimes I throw in a can of chickpeas with the veggies to make it more of a one-dish meal.

The ingredients

1 head cauliflower, in florets

1 butternut squash, microwaved for a few minutes to soften slightly, then peeled and cut in bite-sized pieces.

Sauce:

a dash olive oil

two dashes balsamic vinegar

a spoonful molasses

several dashes soy sauce

a few spoonfuls tahini

a small splash of red wine, if you have some open or want an excuse to open some
a little broth or water, if the sauce seems too thick

The Process

1. Heat oven to 450.
2. Oil a large baking dish.
3. Put veggies in baking dish.  Combine sauce ingredients and pour over veggies.
4. Cover and roast 20 minutes.
5. Uncover, stir to coat veggies, and roast about 20 minutes more, or until squash is very tender.