If you are a foodie who treasures new recipes, you should check out this favourite fall food — roasted squash with the right amount of almond sauce. This mole almendrado, made with rehydrated ancho chiles, spices, and Medjool dates, turns into a delightful dish you wouldn’t stop licking!
Ingredients (Serves 6)
● 3 ½ large plum tomatoes
● 1/3 cup chopped white onions
● 2 unpeeled garlic cloves
● 2 whole cloves
● 1 cinnamon stick, 4-inch
● 2 ancho chiles, stemmed and seeded
● ½ cup slivered almonds
● Sea salt for flavor
● Cooked black or beluga lentils
● 1 medium unpeeled kabocha squash, seeded and cut into ¾-inch-thick wedges
● 2 tablespoons buttermilk
● 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
● 1 ½ teaspoons maple syrup
● 3 ¼ teaspoons kosher salt (divided)
● 4 pitted Medjool dates
● 21/4 cups vegetable broth (divided)
● ¼ cup plus 3 tablespoons olive oil (divided)
Directions
Step 1:
In a cast-iron skillet, cook tomatoes, onions, and garlic, for 10 minutes. Transfer to a bowl for five minutes and cover with plastic wrap. Remove the wrap, discard the peels from the garlic, and put the mixture into a blender.
Step 2:
In another skillet over low flame, cook almonds, chiles, cloves, and cinnamon stick together, and stir them for three minutes. Single out the chiles and the cinnamon stick into a saucepan, and put the almonds and cloves with the vegetable mixture in a blender.
Step 3:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Mix dates and broth with chiles and cinnamon in the saucepan and boil it. Turn off the heat and cover the mixture for 10 minutes. Remove the cinnamon and add the mixture to the blender. Blend the mix for 1 minute and set it aside.
Step 4:
Start by heating a tablespoon of oil, stir in the mole, and add two teaspoons of kosher salt in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook for 20 minutes on low flame, partially covering and mixing the batter until its consistency becomes heavy cream-like.
Step 5:
Take out a large baking sheet, spread squash in an even layer, add two tablespoons of oil, sprinkle ¾ teaspoon kosher salt, and let it toast in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, till squash turns light golden and soft. Add buttermilk, vinegar, maple syrup, remaining ¼ oil, and ½ spoon of kosher salt into a bowl, whisk it and spread it evenly over the roasted squash.
Step 6:
Divide the mole evenly on six plates each, top it off with the roasted squash wedges, pour out the remaining buttermilk mixture, sprinkle some sea salt, and serve the dish with cooked hot lentils. You can refrigerate the remaining sauce for up to one week; just heat it before using.