We often think of pumpkin as a dessert ingredient, just right for pies and muffins. As a member of the squash family, however, pumpkin is also the perfect candidate for simple, savory dishes. In this recipe, harvest pumpkin is seasoned with chipotle, then oven-roasted to a sweet and smoky blend. Serve it as a seasonal side dish at dinner.  Or, crisp some up in a frying pan for an innovative breakfast hash. Don’t forget to save the seeds for a healthy, gluten-free snack!

Ingredients
1 small pumpkin, about 3 pounds
½ cup olive oil
1 teaspoon chipotle pepper

Preparation
To roast pumpkin, preheat oven to 350°. Using large knife, slice pumpkin in half, just to one side of the stem. With a metal spoon, scoop out seeds and pulp, scraping sides of pumpkin until clean and smooth. Retain seeds to make Sweet and Smoky Pumpkin Seeds, if you like. Slice pumpkin into strips approximately ½ inch thick. Mix olive oil and chipotle pepper. Brush olive oil mixture on pumpkin slices and place on heavy baking sheet. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, turning once, until pumpkin is lightly browned and cooked through.

Serve as is, or let cool slightly, remove skin with paring knife, and chop pumpkin slices into small cubes, approximately ½-inch square.

Makes approximately 2 cups roasted pumpkin.