Serves 4-6
The day before: soak 1 cup dried cranberries in 1/3 cup Marsala wine
1 medium (about 4 lbs) pumpkin — peeled , seeded, and cut into inch-sized cubes. The smaller “pie” pumpkins that you find in grocery stores give a nicer result than the larger carving pumpkins, but any will work.
4 Tb olive oil
Salt and pepper
1 red onion, thinly sliced lengthwise and then halved horizontally
½ tsp cayenne, if you like heat
1/3 cup maple syrup
¼ cup balsamic vinegar
Toss the pumpkin, onions, and cranberries with the olive oil, salt, pepper, and cayenne. Spread out evenly on a cookie sheet and roast in a 425 degree oven for about 25 minutes. Take the pumpkin out of the oven, drizzle with the maple syrup and balsamic vinegar, and toss to evenly coat everything and to rotate the pieces. Return to the oven and continue baking for another 10 minutes, until the pumpkin is tender and has some nicely browned edges. Remove from heat, add additional salt and pepper to taste, and top with spiced pepitas (recipe to follow), and serve.
Spiced Toasted Pepitas
½ cup shelled pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
½ tsp dry Tajin seasoning (a chili lime salt that you can find in any grocery store)
A bit of ground pepper
½ tsp olive oil
Toss the ingredients together and bake on a cookie sheet in a 350 degree oven for about 6 minutes until the pepitas just start to turn golden. Remove from heat and reserve to sprinkle on top of the finished pumpkin.