Roasted Pumpkin And Black Bean Tostadas

Quarter the pumpkin; clean out the seeds and interior pulp. Cut into wedges. Drizzle with 3-4Tbs. olive oil, and season generously with salt, pepper and chili powder. Roast in a preheated 375 oven for 40 minutes until fork tender. Allow to cool, scrape out pulp into a bowl and mash. Set aside. If the pumpkin is dry, add an additional tablespoon of olive oil, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Heat 2 Tbs. olive oil over medium high heat in a saute pan. Place corn in the hot pan, add cumin, salt and pepper to taste.
Saute until caramelized. Add the black beans to the corn, saute for another minute to warm the beans through. Remove to a bowl and set aside. To prepare the tostados: heat 1/2 inch vegetable oil in a 10-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot enough to make the edge of a tortilla sizzle. Add 1 tortilla at a time to the oil, pushing down to submerge, fry for 15 seconds. Using tongs, turn tortilla over and continue frying, pushing down into oil with a spatula to keep as flat as possible. Turn the tortilla again if necessary. Fry until the tortilla is a deep golden color, about 1 minute more. Transfer to paper towels to drain. (Tostada will crisp as it cools.) Fry remaining tortillas 1 at a time.