The Great Hall
What to do with...PUMPKIN SEEDS!


WebFoodPros.com: The Great Hall: What to do with...PUMPKIN SEEDS!
By Lisareid (Lisareid) on Wednesday, October 27, 2004 - 02:14 am: Edit

Greetings, all!

Given the fact that I've a plate of raw pumpkin seeds and more to come, I'd love to hear about anyone's experience with producing a crispy, tasty seed snack. In the past, I've washed them and tried to bake them, but haven't gotten the result I'd like. They were too chewy and a bit stringy, even though I had them in the oven on convection for a long time. I think my error is in the pre-bake prep (should they be soaked in salt water for a time to break down some?) but it could certainly be an oven time or temp issue as well. My husband says it's a waste of electricity when you can just buy salted pumpkin seeds, but I want to turn out something special.

Suggestions, anyone?

Thanks!

By Tamsin (Tamsin) on Wednesday, October 27, 2004 - 08:22 am: Edit

I had a whole heap last year left over from the pumpkins we carved. I just washed them, most of them were pretty clean though, placed them in a bowl, tossed them with salt/pepper/cayenne pepper (pretty much anything spicy I could find) and a small amount of oil - canola or something like that, I'm sure you could even use some of that spray oil if you wanted to once the seeds are on the tray. Put the onto a baking tray, with baking paper and cooked them at 180`C (I think that's about 350`F), stir them every so often so that they get an even browning.
The chefs I worked with ate them and liked them, but then those guys would have eaten anything.
I don't know if that helps you, I'm sure someone has a proper recipe but that's what I did.

By Ladycake (Ladycake) on Wednesday, October 27, 2004 - 06:37 pm: Edit

Our exec just uses his seasoning mix and tosses them, no oil or anything. Then he slow raosts them. Hope this helps.

By Cvincolorado (Cvincolorado) on Thursday, October 28, 2004 - 12:48 am: Edit

I always toss with salt and pepper and a little oil like Tasmin says. Once they are toasted they go great mixed in with rice, cous cous or quinoa. I also made a toasted pumpkin seed-cilantro pesto to go on top of Mahi Mahi for a special one night and it went over real well. Good luck.


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