Vegan and versatile: dip, sauce, or spread.
- 1 squash (acorn is nice!)
- 1 head garlic (or 1/2 tsp garlic powder)
- 1 onion
- 2-3 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup walnuts
- 8 oz frozen, chopped spinach, thawed
- 1/2 cup non-dairy milk
- 1 Tbsp dijon mustard
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 1 lemon, juiced
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut squash in half and remove seeds (save for roasting!). Peel onion and trim ends. Cut top off head of garlic to expose cloves. In a baking dish, drizzle oil over squash, onion, and garlic (if using). Brush well, then wrap onion and garlic in foil. Bake all for 60 minutes.
While baking, place nuts in a pan and cover with water. Simmer while the vegetables roast. When vegetables are done, test squash with fork to make sure it’s soft. Drain and rinse nuts. When cool, scoop out squash and squeeze garlic from cloves.
Mix everything in a blender (adding garlic powder here, if using). Run until smooth, scraping sides often. Adjust salt and pepper. Use as a dip or add more liquid to make a spread. For sauce: boil pasta and reserve cooking water. Pour about 2 cups into blender and process until smooth and consistent.
Freeze in small batches or gobble it up!
CAROL WING 