Roasted Pumpkin with Cranberries & Sage

Roasted Pumpkin With Cranberries and Sage Brown-Sugar Butter Serves 6 to 8 

This was delicious!

Chef Michael Scelfo of the Russell House Tavern in Harvard Square likes this dish as a main course, or served alongside poultry or pork.

1 3-pound sugar pumpkin

4 cloves garlic, smashed

2 shallots, halved

2 cinnamon sticks, broken in half

2 bay leaves

1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

8 sage leaves, coarsely chopped

Salt and pepper

1 tablespoon olive oil

Set the oven to 375 degrees. Halve the pumpkin and scoop out the seeds and fibers. In a large roasting pan, pour about ½1/2 inch of water, and add the garlic, shallots, cinnamon, and bay leaves. Place the pumpkin, cut sides down, in the pan and cover tightly with foil.

Bake until the pumpkin is tender when pricked with a fork, 50 to 60 minutes. When cool enough to handle, skin the pumpkin and cut into 1 1/2- to 2-inch chunks. Place the pumpkin in a large bowl. Add the cranberries.

Increase the oven temperature to 450 degrees. In a saucepan, stir the butter, brown sugar, and sage over moderate heat. Simmer gently for 1 minute or until the sugar is dissolved. Pour the butter mixture over the pumpkin and cranberries and toss gently. Season with ½ teaspoon salt and pepper to taste.

Empty and wipe out the roasting pan, and brush with oil. Transfer the pumpkin mixture to the pan and bake until bubbling hot, 12 to 15 minutes. Serve hot or warm.