Fresh Pumpkin Seeds ~ Spiced & Toasted
As with most other veg, I’m such a big advocate of using up the whole pumpkin, whether that be cooking the often-neglected stringy fibres and pulp to make a purée, or toasting the seeds for a crunchy nutritious snack and meal topping. Below are some of my favourite flavours for toasting the seeds; two savoury and one sweet. The main takeaway, as always, is to get creative with different spices and see which take your fancy. They can be stored in an airtight jar and sprinkled over every meal!
Time: 15 minutes
Ingredients
Base for all flavours:
fresh pumpkin seeds from a cooking pumpkin, washed and dried to remove any flesh attached
1 tbsp olive oil or melted coconut oil (per cup of pumpkin seeds)
pinch sea salt
Flavour 1 - herby green:
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried rosemary
(or pre-mixed herbs)
Flavour 2 - smoked paprika & cumin:
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp ground cumin
Flavour 3 - cinnamon, vanilla & coconut sugar:
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tbsp coconut sugar (or any granulated sugar)
Method
Preheat the oven to 170C fan and lightly grease a baking tray(s) with olive oil to ensure the seeds don’t stick.
Scoop out the seeds from a cooking pumpkin and wash thoroughly to move as much pulp as possible. Dry completely using kitchen towel or clean tea towel (this will ensure they crisp up well).
Add the dry pumpkin seeds to a large mixing bowl then add the oil, sea salt and vanilla extract (if making flavour 3) and stir well.
Add the dry ingredients of your chosen flavour and combine throughly using your hands or a wooden spoon until everything is evenly coated. If making multiple flavours, simply split out the seeds into separate bowls.
Spread out the seeds onto the baking tray(s) so they are in a single layer, then bake for 15-20 minutes until the seeds are crispy and crunchy (to test this, remove a few from the oven, let them cool to room temperature and see if they are crunchy).
Store in an airtight container and sprinkle over food.
TIP: If the seeds become a little soft after a a couple of days, reheat them for 5-10 minutes in the oven.