The Single Best Sauce for Any Fall Vegetable

If you asked me to pick a favorite fall vegetable, I couldn’t, wouldn’t, shouldn’t. I’m just as smitten with roasted squash stuffed with grains as I am with shaved Brussels sprouts masquerading as salad, just as giddy about sturdy greens turned into pie for dinner as I am about braised cauliflower pretending to be chicken.

But if you asked me to pick a favorite fall vegetable sauce, easy.

Meet Mapley, Mustardy Tahini Sauce. Its name lists three—of four—ingredients. Add soy sauce and water, stir, and that’s it. You can add more tahini if you want a thicker version for a crudités platter. Or more water if you’d like it thinner for a dressing.

This recipe was developed in the interest of not making a recipe. Because we all have those nights (also known as Monday and, ahem, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday) when you don’t want to be roasting something while sautéeing something while chopping something while, uh, wait, what was that timer for? That’s when this comes in handy.

Here’s the cheat sheet: fall vegetable + tahini sauce + something hearty = lunch or dinner.

• Paprika-roasted squash wedges + sauce drizzle + buttered bread
• Salty boiled carrots and/or parsnips + sauce drizzle + wild rice
• Garlicky, sautéed kale + sauce drizzle + runny egg
• Shaved beets + sauce toss + walnuts and crumbled feta
• Shaved Brussels sprouts + sauce toss + torn croutons

Even more than its ease, I love the way that its ingredients contrast each other: nutty, rich tahini against sharp, spicy mustard; salty, funky soy against caramely, sweet maple. Add all this up and you have a well-rounded, highly seasoned condiment that makes any vegetable seem purposeful and confident.

The sauce keeps dreamily in the fridge—that’s where I’ll be keeping batch after batch from now until springtime.

Mustardy, Mapley Tahini Sauce

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Ingredients

1/4	cup well-stirred tahini
4	teaspoons cold water
1	tablespoon dijon mustard
1	tablespoon maple syrup
1	tablespoon soy sauce

1/4	cup well-stirred tahini
4	teaspoons cold water
1	tablespoon dijon mustard

1	tablespoon maple syrup
1	tablespoon soy sauce

What vegetable would you serve with this sauce—and how would you prepare it? Share your ideas in the comments!