caramelized onion seedy squash pilaff

Yes indeed this is another pilaff recipe… I guess I just can’t get enough of the diversity of texture and flavour in every bite. A little soft, a little sweet, a little spicy, a little crunchy. Plus I love a simple gluten free vegan dinner that can be turned into soup on a whim!

I made this squash pilaff to bring to dinner at our fabulous friends house who roasted a lovely leg of local lamb, the ideal occasion to whip up a little jar of mosquito mint sauce, for a cozy classic drizzle perfect for any roast red meat.

I started by oven roasting a whole bulb of garlic, sadly one of the last from my harvest, along with a butternut squash. Then I seared a pan full of onion slowly, building the rich caramel flavours, toasted a medley of seasoned sweet sesame, hemp and sunflower seeds, and all of this got tossed into a hearty bowl of brown rice coated with a hemp oil + tahini dressing.

I made a simple seasoned salt which I used in all elements of this dish, so this amount will cover all the demand for “seasoned salt” in this recipe.

In a mortar and pestle grind:
1 black cardamon pods worth of seed
a pinch of cumin
a pinch of coriander
a pinch of Sichuan pepper
a clove of garlic
a couple pinches of course sea salt

grind and use throughout recipe

In a hot oven roast:

1 butternut squash sliced into 3/4″ slices (skin on, to be removed later)
peeled garlic cloves from 1 large bulb

drizzle with olive oil and season with salt blend

Cook 2 cups of brown rice  (using your favourite method) 

In a frying pan toast:

1/2 cup sesame seeds

1/2 cup hemp seeds

1/2 cup sunflower seeds

along with a drizzle of olive oil + the above salt blend, once golden brown squeeze a drizzle of maple syrup or agave over the lot and toss frequently, remove seeds from heat, and set aside.

In the same pan slowly brown: until golden and soft

2 yellow onions sliced into thick 1/2″ rings with a drizzle of oil + again more of the salt blend.

de-glaze then pan with white wine or water once the onion is nicely browned then allow the onions to soak back up all the rich juice, set aside.

In a serving bowl dress the cooked rice with:

1/2 cup hemp oil

2 tbsp grainy mustard

2 tbsp tahini

Finally chop up all the squash, garlic, and onions, toss in the nuts and mix gently into the dressed rice. serve warm garnish with parsley.

It all reads a bit fussy, but it’s a nice cooking process that you can do leisurely, and ahead of time.

hope this inspires.

enjoy

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