Maple Roasted Pumpkin Crostini with Blue Cheese & Pumpkin Seeds

This simple crostini combines so many of my favorite warm fall flavors into one which then contrasts nicely with the sharp, salty flavor of blue cheese.

“Sugar”, “sugar pie” or “pie pumpkins” are the best types of pumpkins to use for baking. Larger varieties used for carving often have a much tougher texture and lack the sweetness of the smaller pumpkins. Pumpkin seeds removed from pumpkins look different from store-bought pumpkin seeds or “pepitas”.

While the pumpkin seeds you remove from the pumpkin are white and thin, pepitas are green and small and while they are indeed pumpkin seeds they only come from certain pumpkins that don’t require shelling, namely oilseed or Styrian pumpkin varieties. Save the seeds from the pumpkin and roast for a snack rather than wasting time shelling them to obtain pepitas (or just grab a bag from the nut section of the grocery store).

Maple Roasted Pumpkin Crostini with Blue Cheese and Pumpkin Seeds

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Prep Time 10 mins

Cook Time 35 mins

Serves 6

Ingredients:

• 1 3-pound sugar pumpkin, seeds removed, peeled and chopped into 2” pieces
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus an additional ¼ cup
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• Kosher salt, as needed
• 1 French baguette, sliced into 1/2”-thick slices, approximately 15 slices
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• Handful sage leaves
• ½ cup crumbled blue cheese
• 1 tablespoon pepitas pumpkin seeds

Instructions:

• Heat oven to 400ºF.
• Arrange pumpkin on a large rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with the olive oil and maple syrup and gently toss to combine. Season with kosher salt. Roast until the pumpkin is fork tender, about 25 minutes. Remove to a large bowl and mash with a fork then set aside.
• Preheat the broiler to high. Add about 1/4 cup of the olive oil to a shallow dish and dip one of the cut sides of each baguette slice in the olive oil, then arrange the slices, oil-side up on a baking sheet. Broil them just until golden brown, about 1 minute.
• Arrange the crostini on a platter.
• Heat a small nonstick sauté pan over medium heat, add the butter and allow to melt and bubble. Add the sage leaves and fry until just crisp and fragrant, turning once, about 30 seconds. Drain on a paper towel lined plate.
• Top each with a spoonful of the mashed pumpkin followed by crumbled blue cheese and pepitas. Garnish with sage leaves and serve immediately.

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