The Palm Beach Post
By Associated Press   |  Snacks  |  October 27, 2009

You’ve crafted the perfect gruesome or goofy jack-o’-lantern. But what to do with all the glop you scraped out in the process?

Don’t even think of tossing it. Pumpkin seeds are a great healthy snack and a delicious addition to salads, granola or trail mix.

“I look at pumpkin seeds like popcorn. They can be spiced and seasoned so many different ways,” says Lucinda Scala Quinn, executive editorial director of food at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. “And spicy pumpkin seeds are perfect for munching.”

But before you can munch, the seeds need to be cleaned.

Traditionally, you separate the seeds from the fibrous strands and clean them with water before roasting. One way is to scoop the whole mess into a colander and run it under cool water. The seeds and fibers will separate if you swish them with your hands.

To toast the seeds, arrange them in an even layer on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes at 350 F. If not perfectly golden, leave them in the oven and check every minute until done.

“Pay attention,” says Quinn. “When cooking any nuts or seeds, you can’t walk away.”

But Quinn prefers a simpler method for cleaning her seeds: She toasts everything.

“I throw the whole mess in the oven and once they are dried out, it separates very easily,” she says. If you do that, roast them spread in an even layer on a baking sheet at 375 F until the fibers dry out and fall away from the seeds.

Once clean, transfer the seeds to a bowl and toss with olive oil, peanut or saffron oil, then add spices. Quinn suggests:

• Olive oil and salt
• Grated Parmesan cheese, black pepper and salt
• Cayenne pepper, lime juice, brown sugar and salt
• Cinnamon, brown sugar, powdered ginger or cloves, and pinch of salt

If you clean and season your seeds before roasting, do not add sugar — it will burn in the oven and should only be added after. And with any sweet spicing, don’t forget to add a pinch of salt, says Quinn.

Pumpkin seeds seasoned with olive oil and salt are great in granola or on top of a salad. They also are tasty mixed with dried fruit (such as cranberries, cherries and raisins) to make a quick trail mix.

“That salty, sweet and chewy is a great combination,” says Quinn.

Leave a Reply


We'd like your thoughts on this story. I appreciate your willingness to share them. At pbpulse.com, we want to avoid comments that are obscene, hateful, racist or otherwise inappropriate. If you post offensive comments, we will delete them as soon as we can. If you see such comments, please report them to us (video tutorial) by clicking on the date/time stamp of the comment and emailing that URL to this link.

Tim Burke, Publisher, The Palm Beach Post.



Cuisine categories

Twitter
Follow @pbpulsedining
RSS feed
Subscribe

Local Dining Events

Green market snapshots


Check out our picks and photos for some of the highlights of our local green markets, and even add your own.
Photos: Green Market snapshots | Add your own photos



Copyright 2012 The Palm Beach Post. All rights reserved. By using PalmBeachPost.com, you accept the terms of our visitor agreement. Please read it.
Contact PalmBeachPost.com | Privacy Policy
This website is ACAP-enabled