Maple-crusted Roast Pumpkin Cubes

Directions

1. Equipment:: an ovenproof baking dish or a rimmed baking sheet, big enough to hold the pumpkin cubes in one layer without crowding them
2. Preheat the oven to 450 F. and brush the baking dish or sheet with some olive oil.
3. Turn the Pumpkin on its side and cut a couple of rings from it. (The amount depends on the size of the pumpkin. A good estimate is a handful of cubes for each person eating it.)
4. Place each ring flat and remove the peel by slicing down with the knife and removing the peel in sections, all around the circumference of the pumpkin rings..
5. Cut the rings into chunks and the chunks into 1-inch cubes (an approximate size).
6. Spread the cubes in the baking dish, drizzle them with the olive oil, sprinkle the minced garlic over them and some generous grindings of fresh black pepper and salt.
7. Roast the cubes in the very hot oven for about 15 minutes. Half-way trough the roasting time, loosen the cubes from the dish with a spatula and mix them around a bit. At the end of the roasting time, a skewer will pierce a cube through easily if it is done.
8. Take the pumpkin cubes from the oven and drizzle the maple syrup over them and then..sprinkle on the Parmesan.
9. Return the pumpkin cubes to the hot oven for another 5 minutes. The pumpkin is done when the syrup and Parmesan have crusted over the cubes and the garlic bits are brown.
10. Note: Maple-crusted Roast Pumpkin is a flexible recipe. It serves fewer and greater numbers with ease. Cooks should use their own good judgement and a free hand with drizzling on olive oil, adding extra garlic, Parmesan, or...some extra maple syrup if some cubes seem to have been neglected by the amounts given in the Ingredients list.