Despite littering my house with notes to capture every interesting thought that runs through my mind each day, some of the precious ones seem to float away before pen and paper can be found.
Prime example. Wafa, the lady who does my eyebrows, is an excitable pint-sized Jordanian with a passion for well-defined arches and cooking with seven spices mix. She told me about this rub and how she uses it on meat, on vegetables, on everything one day while threading my eyebrows. Even through clenched teeth, for she held the thread taut with her mouth, her enthusiasm was evident.
I made a mental note to get some. The note was never seen or heard from again until I was in a Middle Eastern market on the hunt for fresh pita months later. There amid rose water and dried Kaffir lime leaves, I saw the revered seven spices mix. Allspice, black pepper, ginger, roasted coriander and other spices are listed as ingredients. I don’t know why they couldn’t find it within themselves to persevere and add the three other spices. Perhaps they forgot to make a note and beyond coriander they couldn’t remember which spices comprised seven spices mix.
Joking aside, seven spices mix is a regular fixture in my repertoire. It pairs extremely well with roasted butternut squash.
This recipe is adapted from The Middle Eastern Kitchen by Rukmini Iyer. For those interested in an introduction to the foods of Lebanon, Turkey and Iran—among other Near East countries—this is a beautiful entrée into the world of such exciting cuisines.
Spiced Squash Salad
Serves 4
Click picture for availability on Amazon.
2 tablespoons seven spices mix
2 teaspoons Kosher salt
Extra virgin olive oil
Pepper
1/2 cup feta, crumbled
1/4 cup pine nuts
3 scallions, thinly sliced
2 handfuls arugula
Preheat oven to 400°F. Lay squash on a rimmed baking sheet, sprinkle with seven spices mix and season with salt. Drizzle with olive oil and, using your hands, toss squash until spices, salt and oil evenly coat cubes.
Roast for 45 minutes, or until tender. There’s little danger of overcooking squash, so the longer you leave it in the oven, the crispier skinner bits become. Then let squash cool slightly and season once more with salt and pepper, as needed.
Transfer squash to a bowl, add arugula and toss to combine. Look for the arugula to wilt a bit from the heat, making it more pliable to eat. Once arugula is dispersed, sprinkle with feta, pine nuts and scallions.
I recommend waiting until the end to add the feta, because if you attempt to toss the feta along with the arugula, it’ll pick up the brown of the spices mix and not look as appetizing as it should!
*If you would like to roast the seeds to add to the salad instead of pine nuts, rinse them throughly and pat dry. Spread on a baking sheet, drizzle with a bit of olive oil and season with a pinch or two of salt and bake at 300°F for 15-20 minutes, or until seeds start to brown. Keep an eye on them and stir if some spots are browning more quickly than others.
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