This recipe for Pumpkin & Arugula Salad With Hazelnuts makes for a delicious addition to your fall salad rotation. The ‘meatier’ varieties of squash like kabocha or butternut are best, with nutty-tasting kabocha being a staff favorite. This simple yet delicious salad tosses roasted pumpkin in a tangy maple vinaigrette dressing with the peppery cruciferous salad green, arugula.

30 minutes 

4 servings 

10 ingredients 

Ingredients

  • 1½ pounds sugar pumpkin or butternut squash or kabocha squash, peeled, deseeded, and cut into 1-inch dice
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • Salt, to taste
  • ⅓ cup hazelnuts
  • 5 cups of arugula
  • ¼ cup Pecorino or Parmesan cheese, cut with a vegetable peeler

Maple Vinaigrette

  • 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
  • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • 2 teaspoons maple syrup (or to taste)
  • 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Directions

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees.
  2. Spread the cubed pumpkin onto a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil and salt.  Toss to coat.  Bake for 30 minutes, turning occasionally, until tender and browned. Let cool slightly.
  3. While the pumpkin in baking, spread the hazelnuts onto a baking sheet, and toast in the oven for 10-15 minutes, or until the skins are well browned and cracking.
  4. Remove the hazelnuts and let cool slightly.  Rub the skins off the hazelnuts with a kitchen towel. Discard the skins and roughly chop the nuts. Set aside.
  5. Whisk the Maple Vinaigrette into the bottom of a large salad bowl. Add in the slightly cooled pumpkin, arugula, pecorino, and toasted hazelnuts to the bowl.  Toss when ready to serve.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)

Calories: 287; Fat: 23g; Saturated fat: 4g; Polyunsaturated fat: 3g; Monounsaturated fat: 16g; Carbohydrates: 17g; Sugar: 8g; Fiber: 3g; Protein: 8g; Sodium: 551 mg

Chef Tips 

If you are on chemo, use cooked greens to toss together with the pumpkin and dressing.

Registered Dietitian Approved

All our recipes are created by chefs and reviewed by our oncology-trained staff Registered Dietitian, Kate Ueland, MS, RD, to ensure that each is backed with scientific evidence and meets the standards set by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

This recipe was originally published on Cook for Your Life. It is used by permission.

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