Roasted Pumpkin and Arugula Salad

We bought a beautiful Hokkaido pumpkin this past weekend. Just the thought of it was distracting me at work on Tuesday -- the air has finally turned cold, and all I could think about were warm, fall-y pumpkin dishes. What to make??? Since we also had half a bunch of arugula left over, my daydreams turned into a plan for a warm roasted pumpkin, arugula, and feta salad, to eat with rice. Not only did it make a wonderful dinner, but some of the best lunches ever the past couple of days! Hokkaido pumpkin is sweeter, more strongly flavored, and less stringy than some other winter squashes, but really any winter squash would work well.

Roasted Pumpkin and Arugula Salad

1 5-lb Hokkaido pumpkin, cut into 1 inch chunks (this is the hard part... best to delegate)
2-3 cups torn-up arugula
1/2 cup crumbled feta
1/3 cup olive oil
2 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
2 tbsp diced fresh ginger
2 tsp honey
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp black pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Mix the oil, soy sauce, ginger, honey, chili powder, and pepper. In a large bowl, toss the pumpkin with this mixture until well coated. Spread the pumpkin on a rimmed baking sheet or two and roast about 20 minutes, until tender and slightly browned on the bottom.

Toss the pumpkin with the torn-up arugula and feta. Serve immediately with rice.

Serves 4 as a main dish, 8 as a side dish.