Thursday, 11 March 2010

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

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Never again with I put the seeds of this wonderful vegetable into the worm bin! 

Tonight we discovered the true delight of roasted pumpkin seeds.  So simple, and Kim, Ben and I all agreed that they tasted somewhere between roasted peanuts and popcorn and oh so healthy a treat.

It all started out when I cut open one of the Golden Nugget pumpkins I grew.  Kim made some home made sausage rolls and I thought that they would go nice with some roasted pumpkin, potatoes, and some steamed runner beans.  When I cut open the pumpkin, I had never seen seeds so plump and fat.  I thought to myself that there must be something I can do with these.  I knew I couldn't use them to plant next year because there was a very good chance that the pumpkins cross pollinated with each other, so they wouldn't grow true to type.

So, after our yummy dinner, I decided to do a quick search on the net for a recipe.  A few fancy ones came up like candied pumpkin seeds, but I was after something a little more rustic and simple.  How hard can it be to roast a pumpkin seed?

Well, not very hard at all so it seems.  I took as much of the pumpkin pulp off the seeds as I could, gave them a quick wash and dried them with a clean tea towel.  Then I put them into a ramekin and tossed through 1 Tbspn of Olive oil and quarter of a teaspoon of sea salt. 


I spread them out onto baking paper and put them into a pre-heated oven at 140C.


After 15 minutes they should be brown but not burnt.  I let them cool on the tray and then we simply ate them all up in no time flat.

So easy to make and a shame to waste what I wouldn't have hesitated to throw in the worm bin in the past.  I am now a humble convert of the roasted pumpkin seed.  I can't wait to crack open one of the Australian Butter pumpkins to get to the bounty of seedy goodness.  Who needs peanuts when you can have these? You can't get a more local snack than that!
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Posted at 22:08

10 green thoughts:

  1. Snap, thats exactly what I did last night with my ONE AND ONLY pumpkin. Actually the pumpkin was tasteless but the roasted seeds are fantastic and Red Kuris have millions of seeds.
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  2. Great mind think alike Deb! I am kicking myself that I had not discovered this simple delight years earlier.
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  3. My kids LOVE the roasted seeds. Try seasoning them with different things like garlic powder...YUMM
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  4. YUM! I have roasted pumpkin seeds on hand at all times. Love them.
    Last pumpkin harvest I gave half of the seed to the chickens because, I learned they naturally rid chickens of worms and parasites. While I do not have such a problem with my chickens I did give them some. They loved them. I also gave my chickens all the scraps left over after baking pumpkins. I did give them a couple of whole fresh pumpkins also.
    I had read about the natural effect of pumpkin and seeds in 'Backyard Poultry' Magazine.
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  5. Gav, this works well with most squash seeds too. I never throw out a pumpkin/squash seed. Even seeds form Jack-O-Latern type pumpkins (the ones you don't eat) roast up yummy. I save them after roasting and sprinkle them on root vegetable soups and salads. Mange!
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  6. Thanks for describing the process Gavin. I have had no success with pumpkins this year. So will have to get some at the markets. I will be saving all my seeds and roasting them. I have heard that pumpkin seeds help humans get rid of worms too.
    Probably be added to your LSA as well. Yummo!
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  7. I have been roasting pumpkin seeds since I was a child. We clean them of the guts, then allow them to dry on clean flour sacks for a day or two, then we toss them with some oil, garlic, salt, and cayenne and roast away. Until this year I didn't know pumpkin seeds had an outshell, because we always ate them whole, but now I hear of Naked Pumpkin Seeds and I wonder what they are like. I like my pumpkin seeds whole, if nothing else that outer shell is fiber and it takes longer to chew the treat (actually causing one to eat less)
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  8. We used to make these at Halloween as part of the carving the pumpkin ritual- delicious- i couldn't agree more. Never throw those babies away! xo m.
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  9. I can't bake these fast enough for the kids, they eat them like lollies (only better!). I also roast cooked chick peas amongst other things, yummo.
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  10. What a great idea. I never knew you could do that with pumpkin seeds. I've never been a fan of the actual Pumpkin flesh (it has always tasted watery and bland), but I'll definitely give this a go.
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