I've had these seeds in the fridge, straight from the pumpkin in this recipe, for like, over two weeks. Surprise! They didn't go bad. So I cleaned 'em under running water and roasted in the toaster oven. After the fact, I read online that you should keep the temperature low to preserve the healthy oils. Oh well. I put mine under the broiler, sprinkled with salt, pepper and curry powder. Every few minutes give those suckers a toss and when they started popping they were about done. Delish snack for a Sunday afternoon and I felt like a very, very good homemaker.
But wait, there's more. Pumpkin seeds, often called pepitas, are chock full of iron and zinc which is a big hooray for vegetarians and vegans who may not get enough of that stuff. There's also some talk of prostate health and help for osteoporosis associated with pepitas. My question was, why are mine thick and white instead of the thin, green pepitas at the store? I guess these are the shells, which are totally edible and provide extra fiber. Thank you, Internet.
I've also heard (and it makes sense) that you should make sure and chew pumpkin seeds really, really well. Otherwise they can pass through you whole, sometimes getting stuck in the gut and causing intestinal problems. Booooo
Any other tips/ideas for roasting pumpkin (or other squash) seeds?
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10 comments:
I love pepitas! They're great with just salt and pepper or sometimes I add some parmesan cheese. :) And thanks for the tip about not heating them up too much! I didn't know that!
I toss mine with a bit of olive oil and sea salt and pepper and broil them for just a couple minutes. I love them on salads or tossed atop stir fries.
See now, I was all ready. I'm thinking, okay, this is one recipe I can do. I'm doing it. And then the bit about getting stuck in your gut. Oye.
@jenn - parmesan sounds great!
@marisa - simple is good. nice idea to throw into a stirfry!
@amy - excuses, excuses... :-)
I could totally go for pumpkin seeds right now! (your photo is gorgeous btw)
What luck! I was going to make a pumpkin tonight, but I hadn't even thought about what to do with the seeds.
I'll be back :)
I feel so guilty for putting my seeds down the garbage disposal now :(
(Yes, lovely photo.)
I toss mine in tamari - it works with sunflower seeds as well. It gives a great savoury taste, extra protein and no need for salt.
this was a great recipe, and a huge hit with my whole house!
julie--tamari sounds like a great idea! thanks!
darya--I'm glad to hear it was a hit!
to everyone--I roasted seeds from a spaghetti squash this week and used coriander instead of curry. loved it because the seeds were more tender than pumpkin. the experimenting continues...
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