Make Ahead

Roast Squash & Chickpea Salad with Orange-Tahini Dressing

by:
September 19, 2015
4
2 Ratings
Roast Squash & Chickpea Salad with Orange-Tahini Dressing
Photo by James Ransom
  • Serves 4
Author Notes

This salad takes a cue from this Carrot Avocado Salad to roast citrus with salad ingredients to build a sweet-tart dressing and finds inspiration for its ingredients and flavors in another Genius salad. Call it a Genius double whammy—or a lettuce-less salad that's hearty and bright. —Ali Slagle

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 2 oranges
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon allspice
  • 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1 clove garlic, crushed
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 5 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
  • Salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 1 small kabocha squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch chunks (about 4 cups)
  • 1 1/2 cups drained canned or home-cooked chickpeas, rubbed with towels to dry and remove rogue skins
  • 3 tablespoons tahini
  • 1/2 red onion, finely sliced (soaked in cold water for 15 minutes if you want to soften the bite)
  • 1/2 cup roughly chopped cilantro
Directions
  1. Preheat the oven to 400° F. Juice and zest one orange and halve the other.
  2. To a blender, add 2 teaspoons of the orange juice, the cumin, cinnamon, allspice, red pepper flakes, clove of garlic, 2 tablespoons olive oil, and apple cider vinegar. Blend until combined, season with salt and pepper, and adjust to taste.
  3. In a medium bowl, combine the squash, chickpeas, marinade, and unjuiced orange halves. Spread the mixture onto a rimmed baking sheet and roast for 20 minutes, until the squash is caramelized and soft enough to eat and the chickpeas are crunchy.
  4. Let cool to room temp. Meanwhile, make the dressing: Whisk together the remaining fresh orange juice, the zest, 2 teaspoons apple cider, 6 tablespoons olive oil, the tahini, and the juice from the roasted oranges. Season with salt and pepper, taste, and adjust as you like.
  5. Transfer the vegetables to a big plate or bowl, drizzle shyly with dressing (you can always add more later), add the red onion and cilantro, toss to combine, and serve immediately.
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  • Ali Slagle
    Ali Slagle
  • Catbhn21
    Catbhn21
  • Anna Biton
    Anna Biton
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11 Reviews

Catbhn21
Catbhn21 January 24, 2018
I liked the recipe well enough but the vingegar instructions are unclear: in step 2 it just says "and the vinegar" so I threw all 5 tsp in before reading step 4 where it calls for 2 tsp apple cider (presumably also vinegar). If I do again, I'd use the marinade just for the squash and dry roast the chickpeas with some of the spices (I don't have a big enough sheet pan for both anyway). Also, the recipe makes a ton of dressing.
 
Anna B.
Anna B. December 19, 2016
I'm confused about what to do with the oranges. Can you add to the instructions?
 
Ali S.
Ali S. December 19, 2016
Hi Anna: Take a look at steps 2, 3, and 4. You use some juice for a marinade, and the remaining juice and zest for the dressing. Then the halved orange gets roasted with the squash.
 
Anna B.
Anna B. December 19, 2016
Oh I see now. Thanks!
 
heather
heather February 27, 2019
When roasting, is the orange flat side down or up--would make a difference on how the juice is retained.
 
Betsy
Betsy October 5, 2016
Looks yummy! Could I do this with pre-cut butternut squash (to make prep time quicker?)
 
Ali S.
Ali S. October 5, 2016
Absolutely!
 
Deirdrejd
Deirdrejd October 30, 2015
It doesn't say to add the zest anywhere. I assume we should. Perhaps in the marinade? Wasn't sure so split it between the two.
 
Ali S.
Ali S. October 30, 2015
Good thinking! It should go in the dressing, but any spot would be good.
 
Lost_in_NYC
Lost_in_NYC October 20, 2015
What do you do with the dressing you made in step 1? Add to the ingredients before roasting?
 
Lost_in_NYC
Lost_in_NYC October 20, 2015
My apologies, I see that it needs to be added to vegetables for roasting.