It only occurred to me today that you can use virtually every part of a Pumpkin. The only bits I threw out were the skin ( and if I’d been roasting it I wouldn’t even have done that) and the fibrous bits from the middle that hold the seeds. And that brings us neatly to the seeds – I’ve seen Pumpkin seeds for sale in the supermarket, so I headed off to the internet to see what it had to say.. Naturally there were the usual loser options, but also some that sounded lovely – Caramelised Pumpkin seeds anyone? In the end I opted for the simple oil, salt and pepper option (I was doing 2 other things at the same time, so don’t judge me 😉 )
It literally couldn’t be easier – the most troublesome bit is separating the seeds from the fibrous bits, and I sat down at the kitchen table with the radio on to do that bit.
Here we go..
EQUIPMENT:
- A large baking tray
- A sheet of baking parchment to fit the tray
- A couple of sheets of kitchen paper or a clean tea towel.
- A medium sized bowl
INGREDIENTS: 
- Raw pumpkin seeds from a fresh pumpkin
- Tablespoonful of oil – I used lovely local Rapeseed Oil.
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
METHOD:
- Separate the seeds from the fibrous bits of the pumpkin. I used the tip of a knife to slide the seeds to one side of the board. It worked fairly well for me.
- Wash and dry the seeds
- Heat the oven to 170 fan
- Put the baking parchment onto the baking tray
- Put the oil, salt and pepper into the bowl.
- Add the seeds and mix well
- Tip the seeds out onto the tray, and spread them out as much as you can.
- Put them into the oven for about 30 minutes, or until they’re a nice golden colour and have crisped up.
- Allow them to cool completely before storing in an air-tight jar.
NOTES:
- One of the two things I was doing at the same time as making these little gems was making my Thai-style Pumpkin Soup https://eatingforireland.com/recipe/thai-style-pumpkin-soup/. These golden crunchy seeds would be a gorgeous topping for a bowl of this creamy soup.
- For other flavours, check out a site called allrecipes.co.uk and put pumpkin seeds into the search box.
I started writing down recipes in an old copybook when I was about 16. With 6 children at home, my Mother was always glad of a hand in the kitchen, and really allowed us to experiment - as long as we washed up afterwards, and left the kitchen immaculate! Having a tidy kitchen has followed me through my life, as has the habit of writing down my favourite recipes; except that these days I write them for my website, and add photographs when I can. The website really started when it occurred to me that my daughter might like to have these recipes when I've forgotten them. In my early days of cooking for family and friends, I used to phone my Mum all the time to ask her for the recipe for some of our favourite family dinners. She rarely had a recipe to hand - I think, like me, she made a lot of it up as she went along.. So welcome to Eating for Ireland - these are the recipes that my friends and family having been eating these past 40 years.. yes, I truly am ancient! They are tried and tested, and have worked for me for all that time - I have updated them as new ingredients became available - I really hope you'll find something that you can make into a family favourite of your own. You don't have to tell anyone where you found these great new dishes that you're serving up - it can be our little secret, but I'd really love it if you could give me a sneaky 'follow' on Facebook and Instagram.. So off you go - have a good rummage around, you're bound to find something new! My sincere thanks to all of you who have found a recipe that you liked and dropped me a line to tell me - I really do love to hear from you! Happy Cooking! Becks xx