How to Roast Perfect Pumpkin Seeds
Photograph by Wyscan on Flickr
When I was young, and my dad and I would come back from the country weighed down with enough pumpkins to keep our New York apartment in a crowd of jack-o'-lanterns plus some, I used to wake up in the middle of the night. No, one of the frightening, candlelight-backlit ghoulish orange faces was not haunting my nightmares; I woke up because I heard sounds from the kitchen.
Great thumps and thuds, a raucous clatter of bangs, the occasional crash. In my pajamas, I would wander barefoot through the cold rooms, and peer around the corner. My mother stood there, stripping down the pumpkins of their seeds and flesh, wielding a knife with murderous dexterity. Eventually, she would spot me, and for hours I would watch her make pies as we ate her homemade pumpkin cheesecake.
At the end of the night, she would roast all the pumpkin seeds she had accumulated from the guts of the pumpkins through the dark hours, and we would sit together on the couch, under a blanket, and eat the salt after all that sweet, watching reruns. Many of you have been asking how to roast the perfect pumpkin seed. Now you know.
Photograph by gotbrimmed on Flickr
Perfect Roasted Toasted Pumpkin Seeds
Ingredients
The seeds from 1 jack-o'-lantern-sized pumpkin (about 1 to 1 1/4 cups), cleaned, rinsed, and dried
1 1/2 teaspoons light olive oil
dab of unsalted butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
Procedure
1. Preheat the oven to 375ºF.
2. Toss the pumpkin seeds with the olive oil. spread on a nonstick baking sheet, and roast for 12 to 14 minutes.
3. Toss the hot seeds with a dab of butter and the salt, stirring to coat, and then allow to cool.
Related
Bobby Flay's Spicy Pumpkin Seeds
Hilda's Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
Michael Chiarello's Toasted Pumpkin Seeds
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9 Comments:
Love roasted pumpkin seeds. Or squash seeds, for that matter. I like to add a little cumin, too.
maggiejane at 10:21AM on 10/31/08
I usually put fresh ground salt and curry powder on them! The BEST fall snack!
Linnea Covington at 10:38AM on 10/31/08
I do half with curry and half with soy sauce. You need to stir a bit more with the soy.
Indigo608 at 11:31AM on 10/31/08
I haven't even had time to get a pumpkin yet this year, but I loved making seeds when I was growing up...next best thing to the candy.
gastronomeg at 12:19PM on 10/31/08
I don't clean the pumpkin seeds before roasting. The lovely juicy flesh around the seeds gets carmelized and extra crunchy when you cook them so don't be to quick to get rid of it. It also helps the salt stick!
Jilly at 2:30PM on 10/31/08
thanks jilly, your technique is great. getting the strings off the seeds takes all the fun out of roasting them.
the seeds are very healthful....
pooch at 3:38PM on 10/31/08
I was just sitting here procrastinating, ignoring the roasting pan full of pumpkin guts and seeds in the other room waiting to be dealt with... I guess this is a sign that I should go work on that now. :-(
goodlearner at 3:51PM on 10/31/08
I was to lazy to buy a pumpkin and disembowel it this year so i bought some raw pumpkin seeds from the fresh market, i used a little olive oil and then tossed them in the oven(ona sheet pan) and after 20-30 min out came the best pumpkin seeds i've ever had. I tossed them with onion and garlic powder and peruvian pink salt and smoked paprika. they went so fast i went and picked up 2 more lbs today.
huneybumper at 9:08PM on 10/31/08
Is it just us or did anyone else get pumpkins devoid of seeds? We carved two pumpkins and I don't think there was a cup of seeds between the two of them--what gives?
smallblondemom at 8:49AM on 11/01/08