Cook & Eat Your Pumpkin Seeds
Just finished carving your Halloween decorations and don't want to let those perfectly good pumpkin seeds go to waste? Here's how to salvage the seeds and cook them.
Pumpkin seeds, also known as pepitas, are actually covered by a fibrous shell (the large white things you find inside your pumpkins). While some people might enjoy eating the entire seed with the shell, we think the greenish, meatier inside is more flavorful and works better with these recipes. To get started, here's our simple roasting procedure:
1. Rinse the seeds in water, separate from the pulp, and pat dry with paper towels. Then, toss them with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and ground thyme or rosemary to taste.
2. Spread the seeds in a single layer on an aluminum foil-lined or parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
3. Bake at 350° 10 to 12 minutes or until crisp. Then, allow them to cool completely in the pan.
At this point, the shells will be tough enough for you to crack them open with your teeth, the same way you would sunflower seeds. You can simply eat them whole, or separate the insides out and use them in a tasty recipe, like the Sugared Pecans & Pepitas that top this beautiful bundt cake. If you didn't carve a pumpkin this year, pepitas or shelled pumpkin seeds can also be bought at the supermarket.
Sugared Pecans & Pepitas
Ingredients:
1 cup pecan halves and pieces
1/2 cup roasted, salted shelled pumpkin seeds
2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 tablespoons sugar
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350°. Stir together pecan halves and pieces, pepitas, and melted butter. Spread in a single layer in a 13- x 9-inch pan. Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until toasted and fragrant, stirring halfway through. Remove from oven; toss with sugar. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack (about 30 minutes).
For 4 more pumpkin seed recipes, head over to SouthernLiving.com.
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