Roasted Pumpkin

We grow pumpkins in our garden.  It's very inexpensive, (we save the seeds to replant the next year). And if you use a trellis, the vines take up very little space.  We save so much money processing our own pumpkin puree, (rather than buying it in the store), and homemade taste so much better.  I have previously posted the instructions, and also shown how to use the puree to make pumpkin pie and pumpkin bread, cookies, etc.  I have tons of recipes for my pumpkin puree.  I could do several months of posts on just using pumpkin.

Our freezer is full of pumpkin puree, and I have saved these last 4 pumpkins for roasting.  (By the way, our border collie and little bird just love cooked pumpkin, so I always save a few small chunks as a treat for them.)

Let me show you how I serve my roasted pumpkin.
You will need:
pumpkin, (preferably a small sugar pumpkin)
salt, pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg, and brown sugar
olive oil

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Wash the outside of your pumpkin.  Cut the pumpkin in half from top to bottom, remove the stem, scoop out the insides, and the seeds, (I save the seeds - some for replanting, some for roasting).

Cut the pumpkin into 1 inch thick slices.

Place the slices on a baking sheet, (I line my pan with parchment paper, for easier clean up, but it's not necessary).  Brush each slice completely with olive oil, (cover all the pumpkin flesh).

Sprinkle brown sugar over the pumpkin slices, (about 1 Tablespoon).

 Sprinkle cinnamon over the pumpkin, (about 1/2 teaspoon).

 Sprinkle nutmeg over the pumpkin, (about 1/2 teaspoon).

 Sprinkle salt over the pumpkin, (I like to use fine sea salt, but you can use whatever salt you have on hand - about 1/2 teaspoon).

Sprinkle freshly ground black pepper over the pumpkin, (about 1/2 teaspoon).

Roast for 20 to 25 minutes, until the pumpkin is tender.

It's been 20 minutes, and I test my pumpkin with a fork for tenderness.  The house smells wonderful, (like a pumpkin pie).

Remove from oven and let cool a couple of minutes - then slide off the skin, and serve.

  

Tonight, we're having roasted chicken, a tossed salad, and roasted pumpkin slices.

Any leftover pumpkin will be used tomorrow in our breakfast smoothies.


Note:  for a little variety, try adding just a touch of cayenne pepper to your pumpkin before roasting it.  The slight hint of heat is wonderful.

Enjoy !