Roasted Squash and Red Onion with Tahini and Za'atar

We recently had dinner guests. Yes, we have friends who are vaccinated and we are acting accordingly. While we wear masks in public and at work, we socially distance (they were afterall at one end of a 12 foot table and we were at the other, with the food located squarely in the middle, to be puched back and forth), and we exercise caution, but we feel like we can make this move. And ultimately, we do need to know what exactly the vaccine will buy us in the way of normalcy. So I made this very traditionally Ottolenghi dish as part of the meal. Za'atar and tahini make me think that i might be able to travel again some day. I do not know why that is--we have been making oodles of Asian food and those are places I would love to explore or return to but somehow it is the edges of European food that make me pine for an international trip. This is easy and delicious. 1 large butternut squash (about 2 lbs.), cut into pieces 2 red onions, cut into wedges 3 1/2 tablespoons/50 ml olive oil 3 1/2 tablespoons light tahini paste 1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice 2 tablespoons water 1 small clove garlic, crushed 3 1/2 tablespoons/30 g pine nuts 1 tablespoon za’atar 1 tablespoon coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley Maldon sea salt and freshly ground black pepper Directions 1. Preheat the oven to 475°F / 240°C. Put the squash and onion in a large mixing bowl, add 3 tablespoons of the oil, 1 teaspoon salt, and some black pepper and toss well. Spread on a baking sheet with the skin facing down and roast in the oven for 30 to 40 minutes, until the vegetables have taken on some color and are cooked through. Keep an eye on the onions as they might cook faster than the squash and need to be removed earlier. Remove from the oven and leave to cool. 2. To make the sauce, place the tahini in a small bowl along with the lemon juice, water, garlic, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Whisk until the sauce is the consistency of honey, adding more water or tahini if necessary 3. Pour the remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons oil into a small frying pan and place over medium-low heat. Add the pine nuts along with 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook for 2 minutes, stirring often, until the nuts are golden brown. Remove from the heat and transfer the nuts and oil to a small bowl to stop the cooking. 4. To serve, spread the vegetables out on a large serving platter and drizzle over the tahini. Sprinkle the pine nuts and their oil on top, followed by the za’atar and parsley.