It's a simple recipe and an age old tradition, but there is nothing quite like the taste of a fresh roasted pumpkin seed. Nothing quite embodies the season like these tasty nuggets after a fun night of carving. Sure you can buy seeds at the store, but they are bleached and dyed white. After being cleaned and processed to last months in a bag, the only flavor left is from the dye that turns them white and they are so chewy it is hard to tell how to eat them.
Fresh roasted seeds will have a nice toasted brown color and a crunch that will make you savor every last bite of the seed and shell. Only fresh roasted seeds still have that smell of the pumpkin to enhance the savory, nutty, sweet flavor that only comes once a year.
Process:
- Hollow out a pumpkin, placing all the seeds and mushy slime in a strainer.
- Remove the seeds from the stringy slime, wash the seeds well and dry with a towel.
- Spread the seeds in a single layer across a baking sheet and spray with oil. Spray oils will keep you from using too much.
- Bake at 350 for approximately 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until toasted and slightly brown.
- Salt, pepper and season to your tastes.
- Place back in the oven and turn off the heat. Leave them in the oven for about 10 more minutes. As the oven cools, it will bring out the taste of your seasoning.
Around here, we like to put a touch of cayenne on at least one batch for some heat. They are also good seasoned with more exotic flavors, like cumin, or just a touch of falafel seasoning. However you like your seeds, the flavor and tradition of fresh roasted pumpkin seeds is something that really only comes once a year. With this year's bumper crop, you should be able to scavenge more than enough to satisfy your cravings.
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