Roast Pumpkin and Cipolline Onions

I wanted to serve pumpkin at Thanksgiving, but not in a pie, and not stuffed like usual. So I chose a small pumpkin with minimal ridges, and peeled and diced it, roasted it, and served it as a side dish.

I did the peeling and dicing the night before, then stored the cubes in a bag in the fridge overnight.

The next day, I picked some fresh herbs from the garden, peeled a few cipolline onions, and tossed it all together on a roasting pan in the toaster oven for about 45 minutes.

I then just plated it and served it as a side. But when I've served this pumpkin dish previously, I've tossed it into leafy greens with a walnut vinaigrette and toasted walnuts for a good main dish salad. The roasted pumpkin is also good stirred into hot rice or quinoa.

Roasting diced pumpkin is a simple way to add a good dose of antioxidants and fiber to a meal. The key is to buy a smooth pumpkin that is easy to peel. Then this dish takes care of itself.

For the cipolline, I cut off the root end and peeled off the dark skin and cut out most of the stem end. But I didn't obsess with the peeling. They were delicious.

Roast Pumpkin and Cipolline Onions
2 1/2 lbs pumpkin, peeled, 1/2 inch dice
10 cipolline onions, peeled and halved
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp salt
pepper
leaves from a few stems of thyme
a few sprigs of rosemary, coarsely chopped, and more to garnish

Toss all the ingredients together. Roast at 375°F for 45 minutes until tender and browned.

Serves 4-6