I spent a lot of time in Nairobi for my previous job—nearly a year, all told. It was an easy place to be, vibrant and beautiful, with burgeoning food and design scenes, and I enjoyed my time there. But spend that much time away from home and you’re bound to suffer some homesickness, no matter how much you come to enjoy ugali or kachumbari.

Homesickness is a strange thing. Sometimes it’s as simple as missing a person or a place, and there were many days when I missed my partner and our cozy routines. Other days, however, my homesickness took different turns; I would find myself yearning to wear a particular sweatshirt, or wishing I could go for a run along my favorite route. And sometimes my homesickness got downright peculiar, and I found myself craving Mexican food. At home, I might have had Mexican a few times a month, but in Nairobi, it was all I wanted to eat. Somehow it was a symbol of home, something unattainable in a place where I could get most any other type of cuisine or creature comfort. Common sense and rationality didn’t diminish the craving, so when a taco stand opened in my Nairobi neighborhood, I found myself there constantly, chomping down on black bean or chicken tacos to assuage my homesickness for the people and things I missed most.

Of the many tacos I ate in Nairobi, the one I loved the most was filled with squash and kale, topped with a lemony cashew crema. It’s the one that I plotted to make again when I returned home. Now that I’m back, it’s gone from being a cure for homesickness to a connection to a place I grew to love.

Butternut Squash & Kale Tacos With Cashew Crema

Source: I Thought There Would Be Free Food

Makes: At least 12 tacos

Total Time: ~45 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 cup raw cashews
• ~2 pounds butternut squash, weighed before peeling and seeding
• Olive oil
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• Salt, to taste
• 1 bunch kale
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Tortillas, for serving

Directions:

• Put the cashews in a small bowl, glass or metal, and pour in just enough boiling water to cover the cashews. Set the bowl aside.
• Prepare the kale: de-rib and chop it into thin ribbons 1–2 inches long (save those ribs for Kale Stem Pesto!). Put the kale into a bowl and toss with a drizzle of olive oil and sprinkle with salt, to taste.
• Peel and seed the squash, then slice into 1/2-inch cubes. Place in a large bowl and toss with a few glugs of olive oil, cumin powder, chili powder, and salt. Spread onto a large, greased cookie sheet, then pop into the oven and broil on low for about 10 minutes.
• While the squash is broiling, make the cashew crema. Drain out half of the soaking water and put the cashews and remaining water into a blender or food processor with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and salt to taste. Blend until smooth, adding additional water or lemon juice as needed to create a creamy sauce. Set aside.
• Increase the broiler heat to high and broil the squash for an additional 3–5 minutes, or until it begins to caramelize.
• Remove the cookie sheet from the oven, spread the kale on top of the squash and return the sheet to the oven to broil on high for 2–3 minutes. Watch it carefully to ensure the kale browns and doesn’t char. Once it has browned, remove the sheet from the oven and stir the veggies to combine. Enjoy the squash–kale mixture in tortillas with the cashew crema.