Warm Roasted Pumpkin & Shallot Salad

Months ago my mom gave me a pumpkin. No I didn't wait until now to use it (don't think it would've lasted that long). This is just one of those many back logged recipes I have yet to post about. I was looking for something interesting to do with said pumpkin and came across this warm salad recipe. Roasted pumpkin and shallots, rice, and a sunflower seed lemon cilantro dressing. Have you ever had a sunflower seed dressing? I made one once before for a delicious sunflower rice bowl and really liked it so thought this one would be good too and it was. The next day the lemon isn't as zingy, so you might want to squeeze a bit on if you have any leftovers. One sad thing was that after I had put finished putting together the salad, I broke a dish and some glass got in the salad. I was tempted to throw the whole thing out but I had just made it and was able to pick out the big pieces.

I think I was trying to artfully drizzle the dressing on top but it was more blobs than drizzle.

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Butternut Squash Casserole
Greek Barley Salad
Autumn Panzanella
Warm Vegetable Salad with Sesame-Maple Dressing

Warm Roasted Pumpkin & Shallot Salad
Adapted from 101 Cookbooks

3 cups of pumpkin (or other winter squash), peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
12 shallots, peeled and halved
1/2 tbsp olive oil
sea salt

2 cups cooked brown rice

1/3 cup sunflower seeds
2 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp water
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon honey (or agave to make it vegan)
2 tablespoons warm water
1/4 cup cilantro, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 375F.

Toss the pumpkin in a olive oil along with a couple pinches of salt, and turn out onto a baking sheet. At the same time, toss the shallots with a bit of olive oil, sprinkle with salt, and turn out onto a separate baking sheet. Roast both for about 45 minutes, or until squash is brown and caramelized. The same goes for the shallots, they should be deeply colored, caramelized, and soft throughout by the time they are done roasting. You'll need to flip both the squash and shallot pieces once or twice along the way - so it's not just one side that is browning.

In the meantime, make the dressing. With a hand blender or food processor puree the sunflower seeds, olive oil, water, lemon juice, salt, and honey until creamy. Stir in the cilantro. Taste and adjust seasonings (or flavors) to your liking.

In a large bowl, toss the rice with the dressing. Add the shallots, gently toss just once or twice. Turn the rice and onions out onto a platter and top with the roasted squash.

Serves 4-6.