Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Ingredients

1 large pumpkin

Loads of salt

A handful of sugar

A dusting of black pepper

A way-too-generous dusting of cayenne pepper

Spoonful of garlic powder

Spoonful of powdered ginger

Directions

1) Scoop out the seeds!

You don’t need a particularly large pumpkin for this. I used a modest one that’s certainly no bigger than the “cheapies” supermarkets sell at this time of year. Larger pumpkins will (usually) produce more seeds, but any pumpkin that could be described as “medium” should give you enough.

This is messy work, so if you’re doing it inside, lay out a bed of newspapers first. Pretend you’re gonna let a guinea pig live on your dining room table. Your hands will be slimy and there will be stringy wads of pumpkin guts everywhere. It’s all pretty awesome, in its way. Revel in the gross process.

2) Clean and rinse.

Some recipes are militant about cleaning the seeds, but IMO, you don’t need to be too precise. Pull out any obvious chunks or strands of pumpkin guts, quickly rinse the seeds in a strainer, and you’re done.

If some of the seeds still have tiny pieces of pumpkin on them, don’t worry about it. By the time you’re done roasting them, those tiny pieces will just turn into caramelized bits of oily spices, anyway.

If the seeds still seem slimy to you, GOOD, you want them to be a little slimy!

Let the seeds dry for a minute or two before moving on. (Or just make sure you vigorously shake the strainer to remove as much water as possible. Pretend it’s a maraca.)

3) Oil and season!

Transfer the seeds to a mixing bowl, or better yet, a cereal bowl. Yeah, a cereal bowl. Let’s do this in your Lucky Charms bowl, like the rebels we are.

Add a generous amount of olive oil and whatever spices you want, and then use your hands to mix everything up. When you’re done, every single seed should be oily as hell.

Now, let’s talk about those spices. This is where you can get creative, but if you wanna keep things basic, the only truly mandatory element is salt. If oil and salt sound good enough to you, go with that and you’ll be happy.

I’m hesitant to tell you exactly what to do since devising a formula is part of the fun, but if you’re determined to do it my way — or my father’s way, I suppose — here’s what you’ll need:

– Loads of salt.

– A handful of sugar.

– A dusting of black pepper.

– A way-too-generous dusting of cayenne pepper.

– Spoonful of garlic powder.

– Spoonful of powdered ginger.

That blend will create BOMB ASS KILLER PSYCHO GREAT MEGA HOT roasted pumpkin seeds. Actually, you know what? I take back what I said before. Don’t make up your own mix of spices. Just do it my way.

The end result will be super spicy seeds with a salty/sweet kick, and you will 100% definitely keep eating them until there are no more left to eat.

4) Bake and shake!

Spread the seeds out over a cookie sheet. (You can use a little cooking spray on the sheet, but I don’t, as I prefer mine to be a little “burny.” It’s your call.)

Bake at 325 degrees for 20-30 minutes. Stir the seeds every five minutes or so.

There’s no way to give you an EXACT cooking time. I mean, other recipes do, but my experiences haven’t been at all uniform. You just gotta keep looking at the things and pull them after they’ve browned and gotten crispy.

You’ll definitely want to yank them before they blacken, though. Be conservative as a rule. They’ll continue to crisp even after you pull them out, so once they’ve been baking for 20 minutes, it’s time to start eagle-eyeing those fuckers.

Notes

https://dinosaurdracula.com/blog/roasted-pumpkin-seeds/