There are cultures that believe when you kill an animal, you should use every part of it. Make a knife out of a deer shin, make a poncho out of cow hide, make a xylophone out of fish bones. And I feel the same way about pumpkins, which is why we have come to a part that has been missing this past month...the seeds!
There are many different ways to toast pumpkin seeds, so I'm gonna give you a couple of recipes for this one. The ones I had at a Halloween party last night were toasted, spiced, and so good I ate them by the fist full.
If you like spicy--
Recipe by Weekend Carnivore
Ingredients:
3/4 cup pumpkin seeds, freshly removed from the pumpkin
1 teaspoon chilli infused olive oil or olive oil
1/2 teaspoon dried chilli flakes
1/2 teaspoon chilli powder, I used mild but go with your own spice comfort levels
1 hearty pinch, sea salt
Directions:
1. Rinse off the pumpkin seeds trying to remove as much of the pulp as possible. Pat dry.
2. Put the pumpkin seeds in a bowl and toss with the oil.
3. Heat a skillet until very hot and then turn down to medium.
4. Add the oil-tossed pumpkin seeds and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly. They are ready when they have started to go golden brown but they can quickly burn so be careful to watch.
5. Remove from heat and carefully transfer the pumpkin seeds to a bowl.
6. Add the chilli flakes, chilli powder and sea salt to the toasted pumpkin seeds and toss to evenly distribute.
7. Let the toasted pumpkin seeds sit for a couple minutes just to allow them to crisp up and then serve.
Some like sweet-
Recipe by Diana Rattray
Ingredients:
1 cup pumpkin seeds
1 tablespoon melted butter or vegetable oil
1 tablespoon granulated sugar, or more, to taste
1/2 to 1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon allspice
Preparation:
Rinse seeds well and get as much of the pumpkin pulp off of them as possible. Some of the small pieces are going to adhere, but they won't hurt the seeds at all, and might even add a little more flavor. Pat dry with paper towels. Don't let them dry completely on the paper towels, because they might stick!
Toss seeds with the butter, sugar, and spices.
Heat oven to 300°. Spread coated seeds in a shallow baking sheet (I line a baking sheet with nonstick foil to make cleanup easier), turning from time to time, for about 45 to 60 minutes, or until nicely browned and crunchy.
Some like it brittle-
Recipe by Joy of Baking
Pumpkin Seed Brittle
1 1/2 cups (225 grams) raw pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup (120 ml) water
1/2 cup (120 ml) light corn syrup
1 cup (200 grams) white granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon (14 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
Generously butter a large baking sheet. Set aside.
In a large skillet, over medium heat, toast the raw pumpkin seeds until lightly brown. Remove from heat and set aside.
Have ready the baking soda, vanilla extract, and butter.
In a medium sized saucepan over medium high heat, bring the water, corn syrup, and sugar to a boil, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Then clamp a candy thermometer to the side of the pan, making sure it does not touch the bottom of the pan and, without stirring, cook until the candy thermometer reaches just above soft crack stage (285 degrees F) (140 degrees C). Then stir in the toasted pumpkin seeds and continue cooking the sugar syrup, stirring often to prevent the pumpkin seeds from sticking to the bottom of the saucepan, until the the candy thermometer reaches hard crack stage (300 degrees F) (149 degrees C).
Remove from heat and carefully stir in the baking soda, vanilla extract, and butter (the brittle will puff up) stirring until the foaming almost stops. Immediately pour the brittle, as thinly as possible (but do not spread), onto the buttered baking sheet. If you want a thin brittle, then while the brittle is still very hot, use gloved hands to stretch the brittle until you get the brittle to how thin you want it. Do this by gently pulling the edges of the brittle, working your way around the entire mass. Let the brittle completely cool and then break into pieces. Store in an airtight container or a plastic freezer bag as this will prevent the brittle from becoming sticky and breaking down. Store at room temperature for up to two weeks.
Makes about 1 1/2 pounds. Preparation time 1 hour.
Last but never least--Caramelized!
Recipe by Sandra Lee
Ingredients
1/2 cup butterscotch caramel sauce
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon extract
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 cups pumpkin seeds, roasted
1 cup almonds, crushed
Directions
Lightly coat baking sheet with cooking spray and set aside.
In a large skillet, slowly melt the caramel sauce and sugar. When melted stir in cinnamon extract and cayenne. Continue cooking until mixture reaches a temperature of 310 degrees F. Stir in pumpkin seeds until completely coated. Spread caramelized seeds onto the baking sheet and sprinkle with crushed almonds. Separate seeds with wooden spoon until cooled.
Cook's Notes:
Melted sugar is very hot. Please use extreme caution when handling and pouring. Pumpkin seeds may be purchased already roasted. If using the seeds from a jack-o-lantern, rinse and clean seeds. Place on a baking sheet, lightly coated with cooking spray, in a preheated 250 degree F oven. Roast seeds for about 1 hour stirring every 15 minutes. The actual seed of the pumpkin is inside the hull. The hull is edible.
Photo by Weekend Carnivore.
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