I had a dinner party for a chilli-allergic friend, so cooked up an Ottolenghi feast from Jerusalem. Unashamed thanks for the recipes Yotam! This is super-easy and delicious. I used it as a side dish with  herby saffron chicken and fennel salad, but it could equally be a vegetarian main course.

Serves 6

1 large butternut, cut into 2 cm x 6 cm (3 x 2 inch) wedges
2 red onions cut into wedges
3-4 tbsp olive oil
3 1/2 tbsp tahini
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 small garlic clove, crushed
30g pine nuts, toasted
1 tbsp zatar (a mix of salt, thyme and sesame seeds you can buy from any supermarket or make yourself)
1 tbsp flat-leaf parsley, chopped
Salt and pepper, lots

Heat the over to 240 C/220 C fan or gas mark 6.

Place the squash and onions in a big mixing bowl and pour on olive oil, add salt and pepper and mix well. Then spread onto a baking tin, placing the butternut skin-side down. Roast in the oven for 40 minutes or so until the butternut takes on a golden/brown colour, but make sure the onions don’t burn. I stirred it all around a bit to prevent this.

Then place the tahini in a bowl, add the lemon juice, garlic, a pinch of salt 2 tbsp of water. Whisk it around until you get a pouring consistency sauce. Add more water if necessary. I put mine in a mini-processor and the sauce was too thick, no matter what I added to thin it! See from the photo!.

Serve the vegetables on a large dish, sprinkled with pine nuts and parsley and drizzled with the tahini sauce.