Chefs Greg Denton and Gabrielle Quiñónez Denton inspired us to grill year-round during our recent visit to Paws Up Cookbook Live, and this Grilled Butternut Squash is a fantastic way to grill into the fall or winter. Start with baking your squash and then finish it on the grill. The Greek yogurt onion dip can be served as delicious appetizer. If you’re looking for a healthy and flavorful dip for entertaining – you could serve the dip on it’s own with vegetables, chips, or crackers. We love everything about this recipe, including the Za’atar, which is a varied mixture of spices. Different people make it different ways. Everyone has their own recipe. The Dentons share their simple homemade Za’atar recipe in the book Around the Fire, but you can also purchase premade Za’atar.
When peeling your vegetables, Greg recommends peeling over your cutting board rather than over the trash can (the more skin you peel of the squash, the more slippery it gets!). Gabrielle likes to have a bowl on hand to put all of her scraps in. We typically do both at home too.
- 1 large butternut squash (2½ to 3 pounds)
- 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 8 green onions, trimmed
- 2 cups Greek yogurt
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill, plus coarsely chopped dill for garnishing
- 2 tablespoons thinly sliced chives
- ¼ cupza'atar
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Using a vegetable peeler, peel the butternut squash, remove the seeds with a spoon, and slice into rounds.
- Transfer to a prepared baking sheet and brush with 4 tablespoons of the oil; season with salt and pepper. Roast until barely softened, 20 to 24 minutes. Remove and let cool to room temperature.
- Prepare a grill to medium-high heat. Coat the green onions with the remaining 1 tablespoon oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill until lightly charred on on side, 2 to 3 minutes. Flip and grill on the other side. Remove and let cool to room temperature.
- Finely chop the charred green onions and transfer to a bowl. Add the yogurt, dill, chives, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper; mix well and adjust the seasoning as needed. Refrigerate until ready to use.
- Be sure to carefully oil the grill grate, and place the butternut squash on the grill and cook, turning once, until the heated through, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Remove from grill.
- To serve, spread half of the charred green onion yogurt dip into the middle of a serving platter or four individual plates. Place the squash pieces over the yogurt and sprinkle with a heaping teaspoon of za'atar. Serve the training yogurt sauce in a small bowl on the side and garnish with dill.
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