Butternut Hommus

There seem to be endless variations on hommus these days, from what gets pureed to what goes on top. I love this version, a take on a classic Lebanese dish of pumpkin with tahini. We make ours with butternut squash — a perfect fall ingredient that’s a little easier to cook with. We also look for kabocha, honeynut, acorn or whatever seasonal squash happens to be at the farmers market in our neighborhood. With no chickpeas in this dish, maybe this is not technically “hommus,” which is Arabic for chickpea, but with its rich creamy flavor from the tahini, I love it all the same. We elevate this dish by garnishing it with za’atar, pepitas (a variety of pumpkin seeds) and intensely nutty pumpkin seed oil. Our photographer, Thomas Schauer, will tell you that the best pumpkin seed oil comes from his native Austria — I agree!