Roasted pumpkin with feta, tomato and pine nuts

Pumpkin is a staple vegetable in my part of the world, used much more for savoury dishes than sweet. There are a number of varieties that I use in my cooking but my favourite is Jap or Kent pumpkin which has a yellow-orange flesh that is soft and dry and a nutty flavour with natural sweetness beautifully enhanced when roasted. In this dish the sweet pumpkin flavours are combined with salty feta, pinenuts, tomatoes and peppery rocket and is delicious served warm or at room temperature. Nutmeg is the perfect spice for pumpkin and is absolutely the best when grated freshly. Whole nutmegs are available in most supermarkets and I encourage you to try them. You’ll never fo back to pre-grated nutmeg!

Serves 4

1 kg pumpkin, peeled, seeded, and cut into small cubes
1 tablespoon olive oil
Sea salt and black pepper
1/4 nutmeg, finely grated
100g soft feta cheese, crumbled
50g small rocket leaves
100g semi dried tomatoes
1/4 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted

Preheat oven to 180C. Toss the cubed pumpkin in a medium sized bowl with the olive oil and nutmeg. Season well with sea salt and black pepper. Place on an oven tray and roast until the pumpkin is lightly golden and quite soft, about 25 minutes. Put the rocket leaves on a serving platter and then scatter over the pumpkin, feta, semi dried tomatoes and pine nuts.