As I mentioned on my last post, we love to make our own pumpkin puree. The pulp stores well in the freezer and we can use it for pies, soups, sauces or anything else that calls for the canned product. Once that pumpkin is cut open, don’t even consider discarding the seeds. Roasted pumpkin seeds, home-made, are a special delicacy. Until now, we’ve followed traditional recipes that simply lay the seeds on a baking sheet, lightly coated with oil and a little seasoning. This time, I took a slightly different route: I brined the seeds before roasting, and what a difference that made! All credit goes to Sawsan, the wonderful blogger and ultra-talented photographer from Jordan. Check her post about it here.
GINGER-PAPRIKA TOASTED PUMPKIN SEEDS
(from Chef in Disguise)
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
2 cups water
1 tablespoon salt
about 1 tablespoon olive oil
powdered ginger to taste
paprika to taste
Scoop out the insides of your pumpkin. Separate the seeds from the stringy core and then rinse them.
In a small saucepan, add the water, seeds and 1 tablespoon of salt
Bring to a boil. Let simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and drain.
Spread your seeds on a baking sheet and allow to dry completely.
Drizzle the seeds once they get dry with olive oil, sprinkle with the powdered ginger and paprika, or any seasonings you like, and mix to coat them as evenly as possible. Spread the seeds out over the roasting pan, all in one layer.
Bake in a preheated oven at 390-400 F (200 Celsius) until they become golden brown or are roasted the way you like (10-20 minutes). Allow to cool, and….
ENJOY!
to print the recipe, click here
Comments: Three great advantages in this brining approach: first, the salt gets into the seed instead of outside only, so you won’t get excess salt in one bite and not enough in another, which is quite common in the “old” method. Second, the roasting time is reduced quite a bit, as the seeds will have a chance to start mellowing down in the brining step. Third, a more pleasant texture in the final roasted seeds. Try it with different seasonings, Southwest spices, chili, I bet even a little curry could be pretty interesting.
Sawsan, thanks for teaching me about brining seeds, loved it!
And now, time to show off the blog award I received…
I was nominated by Alison, from Happy Domesticity, and of course, it made my day when I got her note about it! The winner of such an award must answer 10 questions. Alison added one more. I don’t mind at all, as 11 is a prime number, therefore a lot cooler than 10. Let’s get down to business:
- What is your favorite color? Maybe yellow, but I do love all colors.
- Your favorite animal? I am a dog person as far as pets go, but my favorite animal is the elephant.
- Your favorite non-alcoholic drinks? Home-made carbonated water (Penguin). Twist of lemon is optional.
- Facebook or Twitter? I use Facebook because my blog posts are publicized there and I get messages from readers. I don’t like Twitter, and that is a good thing because I wouldn’t have time for it anyway.
- Your favourite pattern? I love horizontal stripes, just the other day I noticed that a lot of my clothes have stripes.
- Do you prefer getting or giving presents? Giving.
- Your favourite number? 4
- Your favorite day of the week? Friday.
- Your favorite flower? Christmas-cactus in full bloom.
- What is your passion? My work. But fitness comes a close second. Cookbooks get the bronze medal.
- Why did you start to write your blog? I love to write and I love to cook. Blogging seems like a good way to join both… 😉
Alison, thank you once again for the award!
Makes blogging even more fun!
ONE YEAR AGO: A Sourdough Experiment
TWO YEARS AGO: Shrimp and Fennel Casserole
THREE YEARS AGO: Tuscan Bread
Bewitching Kitchen 
Yummy … I’m a seed and nut fan from way back so I always enjoy reading posts like this. I’m too lazy to make my snacks from scratch, however, and prefer to pick them up at the bulk food store when I can’t resist any more. Thanks for the reminder that I haven’t been there for a while. 🙂
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Seeds and nuts are just another example of stuff I became more fond of after moving to the US. Still I don’t eat those very often, but making them from scratch is fun
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Congratulations on your award Sally, very well deserved.
My son is in love with elephants. We have seen so many documentaries and read so much about them 🙂
Thank you so much for making a recipe of mine and blogging about it. I am really happy you enjoyed the pumpkin seeds
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I never get tired of watching documentaries about elephants, although almost every single one finds me in tears at some point… I also have a few books – it is a spectacular, special animal. THe eyes of an elephant are loaded with emotion, the type that feels almost “human”. (for lack of a better term)
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Congratulations are in order, Sally, for a much deserved award as well as for your unusual recipe for brined-roasted pumpkin seeds. Never in a million years would I have thought to brine pumpkin seeds.
You deserve an award for being you, but as far as I know those aren’t given out. Perhaps I’ll start my own award and you’ll be the winner. Congratulations again. The Sisterhood of the World Bloggers is an organization of impeccable taste!
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You are adorable! But if you talk to our students when they mess up something in the lab, I doubt they would agree with your assessment of me 😉
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Brilliant! I will definitely try brining my seeds. Something tells me this will be a winner of a technique. And congratulations on your award!
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Who could tell, right? I was also surprised when I first saw that at Sawsan’s blog.
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Congrats, Sally, on this much-deserved award! I’m sure there’ll be many more coming your way.
I rarely toss the pumpkin or squash seeds but don’t rost them, either. Lucy, my parrot, gets them. She gets a half-dozen or so seeds every night at bedtime. They make her happy. Trust me, you do not want a cranky parrot. 🙂 Still, I’ve pinned the recipe just in case I have a surplus one day.
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Your comment made me smile… my former Mother-in-law had a parrot, he lived 33 years with them. He was AMAZING. Not only he could sing a bunch of songs (when he was in the mood), but when we were having dinner, he would stare from his cage. She would place a little plate at the bottom of his cage with samples of everything we were having. Now, believe it or not, if she did not include one particular dish, say, the green beans, he would trow a fit. Literally. Would not stop screaming, banging his feet on the cage, until she gave him a tiny bit of green beans. She would do it sometimes just to show his reaction for the guests who did not believe her “parrot tales”. HIs name was Zepple.
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We love Sawsan too. And we hate discarding the seeds. What a great recipe. Congrats on the award.
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Thanks, Greg!
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That’s so interesting. I can’t wait to try it! I would never have thought of bringing seeds before roasting, but I bet the flavor is fantastic.
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I hope you try it, Lisa, I am sure you will have a blast playing with different flavor possibilities…
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Congratulations on the award! I’ve never tried roasted pumpkin seeds! 🙂
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Celia, you must try it! Very delicious, although a little addictive 😉
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What a great spin on a recipe that I would have never thought of.. what a great difference it would make. My favorite breakfast is greek plain yogurt with a drizzle of honey and a handful of roasted pumpkin seeds.. I know these would make it just so yummy!! xo
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Always good to learn something new, isn’t it? I am also very fond of greek yogurt for breakfast, sometimes by itsef with just a drizzle of agave nectar, but now that you mentioned pumpkin seeds, I wish I still had some of these!
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The possibilities are endless! We are huge fans of pumpkin seeds. We’ve tried a ton of flavor combos. Cumin is one of our favorites. I remember Sawsan’s post about brining the seeds. Thank you for the reminder. What is it you have to read something three times before you remember it? I think I’ll go back and read your post again. 😉
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Attention span gets shorter and shorter for me – who am I replying to? Oh, I better read the comment again… 🙂
Try the brining, I am sure you will be hooked – hey, how about that for a food blog title? HOOKED ON BRINE. Oh, well, I’m extra silly today.
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Silly is good by me. 🙂 Mr. N used to say (when he was 2 and 3) we were the silliest family he knew. Granted then he didn’t know many other families. 😉
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Good, nice to be safe with you as far as silly goes… Mr.N would be amazed at my family in Brazil. Today we had a conversation by Skype and it so happened that my sister, two of my nieces, and several of their kids were there together with my Mom. Everyone speaks AT THE SAME TIME and listening is not mandatory 🙂 Later my sister writes me and email and says that our exchanges were like being in a big fish market (“mercado de peixe”: an expression used in Brazil to indicate extreme unruly and noisy environments… 🙂
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I love it! That sounds like our house every day. 😉
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I must try the brining method! I’ve experimented with many different flavour combinations on pumpkin seeds but not ginger-paprika – sounds very intriguing! I had no idea BK was on Facebook… I can’t seem to find you there…
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Oh, I don’t have a Facebook “group” called BK, so that people can follow, it’s just that my posts get publicized on Facebook and my circle of FB-friends sees it. The only way to get notification of new posts from my site is subscribing to the email feed or following the blog by WordPress. I know I could set up a FB page for the blog, but I rather keep it simple 😉
My ID in facebook is SallyBR, by the way
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I’ve never heard of brining seeds before but what a great idea! I bet it gives them a great salty flavor…and what could be better than that?
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agreed!
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wow pretty amaze work and never before got this recipe any where BRINED-ROASTED PUMPKIN SEEDS thanks for and you are one my favorite article writer who reply as soon as possible and i like really your work keep hard work and god bless you…
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Thank you so much! Glad you stopped by….
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