Delicata Squash with Maple Tahini. [NYC Dig Inn copycat recipe]

A drizzle of maple and a dash of Tahini makes for a very delicately delectable Delicata:)

Lately, all of my hopes and dreams of food come from the places I eat. I then want to go home and re-create what I just experienced. And then I make it for days on end. My poor family.

This Delicata squash is one of those instances. There is a place called Dig Inn in Manhattan where it serves seasonal, HEALTHY sides on top of either salad or grains and then paired with a meat if you like. It’s wonderful institution where everything is seasoned very well.

We frequented it often as it was close and very healthy fresh. You knew you could always find a vegetable there!

There is a location on the Upper West side and also down by where Jude had drum’s in the West Village. What I loved most about Dig Inn was there vegetables. Anyway, this particular time, I ordered the Delicata squash. I don’t think I had ever had it before but it looked so pretty behind that glass.

And it was soft and sweet and savory and pretty and sooo good.

Knowing that I surely couldn’t afford to eat there EVERY day…I needed to know how to make it. So I asked the cute girl behind the counter. Cute girl answered, “oh I think its maple, tahini and a little garlic?…”

Perfect. All I needed to know. I went home and started experimenting the next night. And sure enough…Maple and tahini it was! I think I made Delicata Squash with Tahini easily for 3 times a week for the next month.

And here I am in utah…Far away from New York but still able to create a Dig Inn favorite!

I’m not exactly sure HOW they cooked it or prepared it, sooooo I did my best to guess! Unlike my usual “just throw the entire squash in the oven until its soft” mentality, I decided to branch out and cut this one RAW. {watch this video to see how I usually cook a squash}.

STEPS:

1. CUTTING

-Take the raw squash and slice it in half LONG WAYS…the HOT DOG way. It’s not as large as other squashes so I figured my fingers had a great chance of staying intact if I cut it raw.

2. De-SEEDING

-Because it is not cooked, it can be tough to deseed simply with a spoon. My easiest conclusion is to flip it over [so its like a dome] and then slice it into 1 inc wedges….and then chop those in half. They look like cute little half moons when i am done. Make sense??

-Then I deseed them with a knife by turning them on their sides. Basically, any way you can get the strings and seeds off more power to you. That is my easiest way:)

3. the SAUCE

-Mix garlic +tahini + maple syrup in small bowl and set aside.

4. SAUTEING

-Dump all half moon delicata’s into a saute pan with the olive oil and toss with the tahini/garlic mixture. Season with salt and pepper.

-Cover with lid and let cook until tender and caramelizey.

Enjoy out of the pan or on a plate:) Just remember to dip it in the left over caramelize-y sauce.

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