Roasted Squash with Labneh & Gunpowder Podi – Diaspora Co.

Padma's Roasted Squash with Labneh & Gunpowder

This easy vegetarian recipe from Padma Lakshmi—Emmy-nominated television host and author of Padma’s All-American: Tales, Travels, and Recipes from Taste the Nation and Beyond—pairs her Gunpowder Podi with deeply caramelized wedges of roasted winter squash, creamy, cooling labneh, and fragrant fresh basil. Each bite is a sweet-savory-tangy-nutty-spicy-autumnal revelation. While we love it any day of the week, it also makes a pretty stellar holiday side dish, too (Thanksgiving, we’re looking at you!).

Cook’s note: If you want a textural topping for the dish, rinse the squash seeds freeing them from any stringy bits, pat dry, then toss with 1 teaspoon olive oil and a sprinkle of salt and roast at 450°F until golden and crunchy, 8 to 10 minutes. Then, sprinkle over in Step 5.

Ingredients

Two 1½- to 2-pound acorn squash (about 680 to 907 grams each)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon Surya Salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground Aranya Black Pepper
1 cup (240g) labneh
1 tablespoon Padma Lakshmi’s Gunpowder
1 tablespoon untoasted sesame oil (gingelly oil), or other neutral oil
10 to 12 basil leaves, torn

Methods

Preheat the oven to 450°F.
To prepare the squash, cut each squash in half, scoop out the seeds, reserving for garnish (see Cook’s note) if desired, and cut each half into three wedges. Repeat with the remaining squash, and then transfer the wedges to a sheet pan.
Drizzle the squash with the olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, toss to coat, and arrange into a single layer. Roast until the squash is cooked through and the side touching the pan is deeply caramelized, 45 to 50 minutes. (This is also when you’d roast the squash seeds for garnish, too.)
While the squash is roasting, prepare the podi topping. Combine the untoasted sesame oil and gunpowder podi in a small bowl and mix well (it should be a spoonable consistency, like chilli oil). Taste and season with salt, if necessary.
To serve, give the labneh a stir and swoosh onto the bottom of a serving platter or individual plates, then top with the roasted squash wedges. Spoon the gunpowder podi oil over the squash and garnish with the torn basil leaves and roasted squash seeds, if using. Enjoy warm or at room temperature.