Pumpkin Crostini with Sage

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Fried Sage Leaves:

• Heat olive oil in a medium sauce pan and fry sage leaves for a few minutes, divided into 2-3 batches, until they become crisp and dark green in color. With a slotted spoon gently transfer to a piece of parchment paper in a single layer and let them cool. Set aside the sage infused olive oil. The fried leaves are very delicate so handle them carefully.

Crostini:

• Brush each baguette slice with the sage infused olive oil on both sides and sprinkle lightly with sea salt.  Arrange the slices in single layer on a baking sheet and toast in the preheated oven for about 8-10 minutes, or until golden in color. Set aside to cool. You can make the sage leaves and the crostini up to 3 days ahead and store them separately in an airtight container at room temperature.

Roasted Pumpkin Cubes:

• Preheat the oven to 400°F. Cut pumpkin in half. With a metal spoon scoop out the pulp and seeds. You can save the seeds for roasting later. Slice into 1-inch thick moon shaped wedges and peel the skin off with a vegetable peeler. Cut pumpkin slices into 1-inch cubes. Spread out pumpkin cubes on a large baking sheet and drizzle with the remaining sage infused olive oil. Sprinkle with sea salt and toss to coat evenly. Roast in oven for about 30 minutes or until tender. Let them cool.

Red Wine-Balsamic Reduction:

• In a small sauce pan combine wine, balsamic vinegar, honey and cook over medium heat uncovered until it reduces to about ¼ cup and becomes sirupy.

To Assemble:

• Spread a thin layer of goat cheese on each crostini and spoon pumpkin cubes on top. Arrange the crostini on a serving platter and decorate each with a sage leaf. Just before serving, generously drizzle crostini with the red wine-balsamic syrup.