Roasted Kabocha Squash with Black Rice and Ajo Blanco | Arugula, Walnut, Preserved Lemon Salad

Nutty and fragrant black rice provides a toothsome texture contrasting the warmly spiced melt-in-your-mouth squash

Roasted Kabocha Squash with Black Rice and Ajo Blanco with Arugula, Walnut, Preserved Lemon Salad

Serves 4

Last night I was sitting at my dinner table without a clue as to what I was going to eat. I was scanning my copy of Cool Beans for inspiration when I stumbled upon a curious recipe for ajo blanco, AKA white gazpacho. Yonan subs creamy cashews for the traditional almonds and chickpeas (his favorite, and mine) for the traditional bread. (Yes, this soup traditionally incorporates bread as an ingredient!) I had all of the ingredients on hand and my interest was piqued, though I knew I didn’t want a heaping bowl for my main course. So, what to do? I looked around my pantry; The grocery store was fresh out of brown rice recently, so I opted for the black variety. White soup, black rice—sounds edgy. I wanted more color contrast; what else could I add? A big, beautiful kabocha squash looked out at me. I love roasting kabocha squash with warm spices until it looks like a blistering sunset. I was anticipating eating with my eyes at this point, though still excited about pairing the buttery sweetness of the squash together with that oh-so-nutty-and-spicy rice. I wasn’t sure how I was going to incorporate the ajo blanco but pushed on regardless. The plating concept occurred when it was time to plate, and the salad occurred when it was time to add the salad. When I sat down to eat it, I thought to myself: looks great, but how’s it taste?

Pretty damn good!

The ajo blanco has a creamy texture and an almost cheesy flavor that lends itself quite nicely to the dish. The exotically fragrant rice provides a toothsomeness while the squash simply melts in your mouth. As for the salad, I was quite pleased with the zany complexity of the preserved lemons—an overall palette cleanser. The whole dish came together in a little more than an hour. I’m hopeful that you will enjoy it. 

Sometimes the best plan is not to have a plan at all.

For the squash:

• 2 medium kabocha squash, ends trimmed, and cut into quarters
• olive oil, for drizzling
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg powder
• Salt and pepper, to taste

For the ajo blanco:

• 1 1/4 cup ice water
• 1 cup raw cashews
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup cooked or canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed (reserve the liquid)
• 1/4 cup aquafaba (chickpea cooking liquid or liquid from canned chickpeas)
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1/3 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
• Chive blossoms, mint leaves, or carrot greens, for garnish

For the black rice:

• 1 cup of black rice
• 2 cups of water

For the salad:

• 2 cups loosely packed arugula
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
• A healthy glug of rosemary infused olive oil, or simply plain olive oil
• 2 preserved lemon peels, washed and julienned, with flesh discarded
• A pinch of sea salt salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.

Trim off the stems and bottom ends of your squash and quarter them, removing the seeds. (Don’t throw away perfectly good seeds; add them to your stock pot or toast them at your leisure with a little oil, salt and pepper for some delicious salad toppers.) Lay the squash out on a baking tray flesh-side up. Drizzle generously with oil, then sprinkle on the smoked paprika. The squash should be coated beautifully bright red, so make sure to use more paprika as needed. Next, sprinkle on the cinnamon and nutmeg and finally the salt and pepper, to taste. Bake for at least 40 minutes, taking them out half way to reverse the tray, until they fall apart to the touch. You know you have baked it long enough (just the right amount of time, really) when the squash look like they will collapse. This is important since you want the peel to be fully cooked, so make sure you test its doneness by pinching a piece of the squash for that soft give.

Once your squash hits the oven, cook the black rice according to the package instructions. Black rice generally needs at least 40 minutes to cook, so ideally your rice and squash will come up together.

This dish also makes for an excellent antipasto course. Simply cut and stuff smaller pieces of squash.

Now it’s time to assemble the ajo blanco. Puree all of the ingredients in a high powered blender until smooth. If the soup seems too thick, add more ice water, a few tablespoons at a time, until you reach your desired consistency. Taste and add more salt if needed. Cover and refrigerate until very cold, 1 to 2 hours.

When the squash and rice are cooked, you are ready to start plating. Spoon black rice over your  squash. Garnish with alfalfa sprouts if desired. Serve the ajo blanco in a small bowl or shot glass with a spoon on the side for a fun presentation gimmick, or simply spoon it over the rice right then.

Mix all of the salad ingredients in a bowl and add some salad to each of the plates.

Enjoy!