One of my  favorite things about Halloween isn’t the spooky movies or aisles of candy at the store…it’s not even the crisp fall day when you head to the pumpkin patch for the perfect pumpkin. Nope, it’s the fresh roasted pumpkin seeds that my family always made after pumpkin carving. Salty with a hint of smoky roasted flavor and a gentle pop when your teeth crunch down, they barely resemble the ghostly white cardboard seeds that are available year round. I won’t lie, these are a bit of a pain (separating the seeds from the pumpkin innards) but definitely worth it for the once a year event. I spice mine with kosher salt, ground coriander and cayenne pepper but you can pretty much use any flavoring. Sage and smoked sea salt would be delicious. Greek seasoning, yum. And I had heard whispers of someone making wasabi pumpkin seeds. That might be a little too much fusion for me, but to each, their own!

Ingredients:
2 cups of raw pumpkin seeds, washed & sorted*
1 tbsp olive oil
sprinkle of kosher salt, ground coriander and cayenne pepper

Preheat oven to 400. Using a large cookie sheet or baking dish, toss seeds with oil and seasonings. Put in oven and roast for 8-10 minutes, toss seeds and check in 5 min increments. Once the seeds are a light golden brown, they’re ready. The longer you leave them in, the more crispy they’ll be and roasted they’ll taste. Be careful though, it’s easy to take them from golden brown to black. Eat and enjoy, put any leftovers in a baggy to be shared with friends and/or sprinkled on roasted soups, in salads or just eaten by the handful!

*use a colander to strain the seeds from the pumpkin “guts”, rinse and drain.

Two “artistic” pumpkin seed images, just for fun!