This recipe lives up to the yearly pumpkin craze, no doubt.

Roasted pumpkin with Cajun spice, maple-dijon vinaigrette, creamy avocado and pumpkin seeds all on a bed of mixed greens. Simple enough to make and goes perfectly as the side for any fall dish.

It also just looks nice, so serving this up as an appetizer when you have company will impress people for sure!

Ingredients

Maple Dijon Vinaigrette

• 3 tbsp. vegetable oil
• 1 tbsp. white vinegar
• 1 tsp. mustard
• 1/2 tsp. maple syrup

Cajun Pumpkin Salad Mix

• 1 small pie pumpkin
• 2 tbsp. Cajun spice mix
• 1 tsp. paprika
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• Pinch of salt and pepper
• 1 large avocado, cubed
• 2 cups mixed greens

Method

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

With a large sharp knife, cut around the stem of the pumpkin to remove it (as if you were going to make a jack-o-lantern).

Place the pumpkin on a sturdy surface and cut it in half. With a spoon, scrape out the inner gunk, keeping the seeds separate for roasting. Brush each half with vegetable oil and sprinkle the Cajun mix and paprika evenly.

On a greased baking sheet, place both pumpkin halves cut-side down and bake for 50 minutes. When you take them out, you should be able to pierce them easily with a fork.

Lower the oven temperature to 325 degrees F. Place the pumpkin seeds on a greased baking sheet and drizzle with vegetable oil. Lightly sprinkle with salt, pepper, garlic powder and whatever spices suit you.

For the vinaigrette, whisk together oil, vinegar, mustard and maple syrup until everything is well mixed.

In a bowl put the mixed greens, pumpkin and avocado. Sprinkle the pumpkin seeds on the salad and drizzle with vinaigrette.

Eat up!