Roasted Honeynut Squash with Lemon Whipped Chickpeas

roasted squash over the chickpea whip, one is in half moons and the other is cut in half

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Roasted Honeynut Squash with Lemon Whipped Chickpeas

If fall was a dinner, this would be it: maple-Dijon roasted honeynut squash over a creamy, lemony whipped chickpeas and topped with buttery toasted pine nuts. (gluten-free, soy-free with nut-free option. 12g each protein and fiber per serving)

Prep Time20

Cook Time30

Total Time50

Course: dinner, Holiday, Main, Main Course

Cuisine: Holiday

Keyword: roasted honeynut squash

Servings:

Author: Vegan Richa

Ingredients

For the Roasted Honeynut Squash

3 small honeynut squashes
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 clove garlic minced
Salt as needed

For the Maple Dijon Glaze

2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 to 2 cloves garlic minced
1 teaspoon Aleppo pepper flakes or gochugaru pepper flakes or a mix of the two
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon oil if needed

For the Lemon Chickpea Whip

15 ounce can chickpeas or 1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas
1 tablespoon white miso or use chickpea miso for soyfree
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Zest of 1 lemon
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon oregano
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons cold water or more, if needed

For Topping

2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts
Fresh herbs such as chopped fresh parsley or thyme
Hemp seeds
Aleppo pepper flakes
Vegan Parmesan optional

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Roast the honeynut squash.

Preheat the oven to 425° F (219° C).
Wash the honeynut squashes and dry them. Then, brush them with some olive oil and place them on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with a little salt. Cover loosely with parchment. Bake the honeynut squashes for 25 to 30 minutes, or until they are tender. Check the middle part of the squash to see if it's tender enough.
Take them out of the oven, and let them cool for about 5 to 10 minutes. Then, use a knife to slice them open. Scoop out the seeds carefully, so that you don't take too much of the squash out with the seeds.
Meanwhile make the glaze by adding the maple syrup, Dijon, garlic, thyme, and pepper flakes to a bowl and mixing well. You can also add 1/2 teaspoon of oil, if needed.
Brush the glaze all over the squashes. You can slice the squash in half and keep them in halves, or you can slice them into 1” thick half-moons.
If you're making half-moon slices, place them on the baking sheet and brush both sides with the glaze. For the halved honeynut squash, brush the top and the scooped-out seed box with the glaze really well. For extra caramelization, sprinkle a little bit of salt as well as a little bit of sugar on the squashes.
Increase the heat in the oven to 500° F (260° C), and put the squash back in the oven to bake for another 5 to 10 minutes.

While the squash bakes, make the chickpea lemon puree.

In a food processor, add all of the puree ingredients and process until the mixture starts to break down. Keep adding water 1 tablespoon at a time, so that the chickpeas can keep moving and keep getting smoother. The mixture should be evenly smooth with no chunks of chickpeas. It won’t be super creamy, but get it as smooth as you can.
Taste and adjust the flavor. Add more herbs or more lemon zest, if you like.

Toast the pine nuts.

Heat a small skillet over medium heat and add the pine nuts. Reduce the heat to medium-low and continue toasting them until they start to pick up a little bit of color. Switch off the heat, let them sit in the pan for another 30 seconds or so, and then remove them from the skillet. You can add some flavor to the pine nuts, if you like, by adding in a little bit of oil, Aleppo pepper flakes, and fresh thyme.

Plate and serve.

Spread the chickpea puree on a plate and then place the glazed squashes on top. Top it with the pine nuts, some fresh herbs, and some more seeds if you like, such as black sesame seeds or toasted pumpkin seeds.
If you have any of the glaze remaining, drizzle some of that over the squash and the chickpea mixture, as well. You can optionally top it with some vegan Parmesan.
Serve roasted honeynut squash with a side of toasted sourdough, multigrain bread, garlic bread, toasted pita, cooked quinoa, farro, or toasted quinoa. All of these work amazingly with it. It's just so fabulously delicious!

Video

Notes

The pine nuts add this amazing, buttery topping to the squash. But if you don't have pine nuts, you can use other nuts or seeds. Toasted walnuts or pecans will work as well. Toasted pumpkin seeds also work. You can also add some candied pecans, which will bump up the sweet flavor of the squash.

To bump up the protein, add some hemp seeds on top. You can also top it with some of my gochujang tempeh. Of course, the sides you choose will add protein. If you serve multigrain bread on the side, then that will add more protein and fiber.

This recipe is gluten-free and soy-free. For nut-free, just use seeds instead of nuts for topping.

Nutrition