Next time you are using pumpkin in a recipe, don't throw away the seeds - roast them for a delicious and healthy snack. I love to cook with pumpkin, and I use it a lot. In salads, on homemade pizzas and my favourite ever soup is definitely this spiced pumpkin and carrot one , but I don't like seeing any food go to waste, and throwing out pumpkin seeds is a waste when there's such a simple and tasty alternative. It's easy to roast pumpkin seeds, and makes for a delicious no-waste ending when cooking with pumpkin. Here's how you roast the perfect pumpkin seeds...
Pumpkin seeds are good for you, too: they're high in protein, zinc, copper and iron and they're a good source of Vitamin E and K.
You'll need:
A pumpkin Olive oil Salt
1. Clean the seeds:
Preheat oven to 140C. Cleaning the seeds is what requires the most effort (but it's absolutely worth it). Cut your pumpkin according to how you are going to use it. Scoop the seeds from the cavity and place in a colander. Pinch away all the large chunks of squash flesh and strings (the aim is to remove all the flesh and stringy bits). Place the colander under cool running water to help with removing any additional stringy bits.
2. Boil for 10 minutes in salt water:
Add the pumpkin seeds to a medium-sized pot of water along with 1 tsp salt. Bring it to a boil and reduce the heat to simmer, uncovered, for about 10 minutes over low-medium heat. This step is optional, but is said to give a saltier and crispier end result (I personally follow this step).
3. Dry the seeds:
Drain the seeds, and dump onto a towel and pat to dry. The seeds might stick to the towel a bit.
4. Oil and salt the seeds:
Place the seeds on a baking tray and drizzle with a small amount of olive oil, approximately 1 teaspoon for 3/4 cup of seeds. Add a pinch or two of salt.
5. Toss and bake the seeds:
Toss the seeds until they are evenly coated with oil and salt. Spread out so they are in a single layer, though some overlapping is fine. Place the baking sheet into the oven. Roast for 10 minutes, then give them a stir. Roast for another 10 minutes, or until the seeds are just starting to golden. During the last 5 minutes, remove a few seeds and crack them open to check the inside is not brown. You don't want the inner-seed to be brown.
6. Remove and cool:
Remove the seeds from the oven and let the seeds cool on the tray. Enjoy right away or keep for a few days in an airtight container.
Other recipes you might like... Spiced pumpkin and carrot soup Vegan Pot Pie