Friday, October 30, 2009

Spicy Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

This time of year, I always see recipes for roasted pumpkin seeds posted here and there on the web.  What I don't understand is why some insist on washing them?! When you have a natural, lowfat, flavorful, sticky, carmelizing coating for them ready to go when they come straight out of the pumpkin?  If you roast them crispy enough, you can eat them hull and all. 

To make these, you need:

Seeds from a 12-inch pumpkin (about 2 cups, with hulls)
Blend of spices of your choice
Cooking spray

First, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. 

Once you've opened your pumpkin and taken out the seeds, just take the clumps of pulp off of them, leaving the sticky residue there.  Do not rinse them.


What spices do you like?  Some of those I like to use are:


Kosher Salt (1 tbsp)

Pepper  (you could make do with just salt and pepper in a pinch!)

Garlic powder (1/2 teaspoon)

Cumin (1/2 teaspoon)

Cayenne powder (pinch or to taste)

Chili powder (pinch or to taste)

Guppy food (kidding - it was on my spice rack for some reason)

If you can get your hands on some green chili from Hatch, New Mexico, you're in for a serious spice treat!

Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray and spread your sticky seeds out over it in a more or less single layer.  Blend the spices together and with your fingers, sprinkle the spice over the seeds. 

Roast them for 20 minutes, then take a spatula, flip them over and toss them around a  little.  They may stick together a bit but are easy to break apart.  Watch carefully and roast until they turn brown - another 10 minutes or so, but cooking times may vary.

Cool and enjoy with an ice cold beer or chilled apple cider while you watch
THE YANKEES WIN THE WORLD SERIES!!!

16 comments:

TALON said...

You're right - the rinsing is an extra step that's totally unnecessary.

Love roasted pumpkin seeds - I'll be indulging tomorrow evening!

Have a Happy Halloween!

Lzyjo said...

MMM!!! Those look so tasty!! LOL! Guppy food! Go Phillies!!! ;)

Joanne said...

Okay, the best part of this post? The little thing about The Yankees at the end. New York rocks.

Skip Simpson said...

Mmmmmm... pumpkin seeds! I'll keep still about the last part... ;)

our friend Ben said...

Guppy food!!! Gack! Now the Phillies are sure to win!!!

Pam J. said...

Have you tried Old Bay seasoning, said the Marylander who has 5 or 6 cans hidden in various spots around the kitchen? What a great notion about not washing off all the goopy stuff! Why didn't I think of that?? I don't think the Yankees will win the next 3 in a row, but of course they will win the whole thing. I'll time my pumpkin seed roasting for mid-week, so I'll have a fresh batch to eat while I watch them finish things up.

Ronda Laveen said...

I love to roast the pumpkin seeds but never thought to season them. Thanks.

Wanderer said...

I had no pumpkin this year, but I want to try this seasoned seeds! sounds great.

go Yanks.

Lynn said...

I am so bummed that Jack threw his pumpkin seeds into the compost bin -- I would have loved to have tried this! I suppose maybe pumpkins will be on sale this week...

Daricia said...

never considered leaving the sticky on! what a great idea.

Anonymous said...

Hmm, we always wash them too, but never get all the pulp off anyway. I love them with just sea salt, and the crunchier the better. It is a fine line between perection and burnt! Must watch the over carefully. :-)
Frances
I won't say anything about the baseball, but my husband and all four of our kids were born in PA.

June said...

I was so busy I just fed ours to the chickens this year. Now...regret! I miss that crunchy fun!

Wendy McDonagh-Valentine said...

My kids and hubby would love that pumpkin seed recipe!! I'm not a big fan of spicy things but they all are. Thanks for sharing it with us. :)

GO YANKEES!!!!!!

~ Wendy
http://Crickleberrycottage.blogspot.com/

Guinnah said...

These sound so good - we only carved one pumpkin and that was at 1 am the night before our party. So we the seeds were tossed. But we have several more uncarved I should go after...thanks for the inspiration!

Gail said...

I haven't made roasted pumpkin seeds since college...must amend this now! gail

JGH said...

Thanks for stopping everyone - hope you'll try the recipe. Juswt one more tip to pass on. If you leave the roasted seeds out, they absorb moisture and get chewy -not as fun!

If that happens just put them in the oven or toaster oven for a few minutes and they'll crisp right up again!

Pam, love your idea to use Old Bay. Aren't there several blends of it? Or just one traditional?

Pam,