I wait all year for sugar pumpkins. Not for pie, no, no, no, no. It’s my absolute favourite roasted side dish. Perhaps you didn’t realize you can roast pumpkin just like you can butternut squash. Sugar pumpkins might also be called pie pumpkins. They’re the ones that are bigger than decorative pumpkins and gourds, but not anywhere near the size of Jack O’Lantern ones. They’re sweeter, less stringy and just down right delicious. I roast it or steam or roasted then mash. Mashed it makes a wonderful binder in veggie burgers and the like. Oh, and of course you can make homemade pie with mashed pumpkin, but we’ll save that for another day. Not much to this recipe, so let’s get going!
Roast Pumpkin
Serves 4
1 sugar pumpkin, cleaned, quartered and peeled
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon salt
Freshly cracked black pepper
Preheat oven to 375 F. Slice your cleaned pumpkin into 1/4 inch strips. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and lay the pumpkin strips out flat. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt, thyme and pepper. Bake for 40 minutes, turning over once if desired, until the pumpkin has started to brown. Serve hot or cold and very often.