roasted pumpkin seeds

So all these years I've been doing it wrong. Scooping out the pumpkin, giving the seeds to the chickens and trying to turn the flesh in to something taste-bud worthy. Last year's pumpkin soup still sits dejected, at the back of the freezer...

Squash makes a wonderful soup (we add five spice and cream before pureeing, yum) but pumpkin... well, it leaves my family cold.

You know what we do love? Salty snacks. It suddenly occurred to me to roast the seeds, give the flesh to the chickens, and oddly the puppy who loves it, and pimp the seeds instead.

Browsing the internet I see that some people like adding spicy flavours like chilli or cumin, but loving herbs I thought I'd try rosemary.

My favourite herb, I add it to roast potatoes, meat, fish and a family favourite - pizza with feta and rosemary.

So on the seeds it went.

You want to preheat the oven to about 190, rinse the seeds thoroughly, dry them and toss in some oil and your flavour of choice. I used a couple of lugs of olive oil, a sprinkle of sea salt, a sprinkle of garlic salt, and some chopped rosemary. I used a couple of small sprigs but in hindsight I should have used more.

You pop them in the oven for 20 mins until golden brown, giving them a couple of shakes during. Let cool down a while before eating.

These would be lovely with a glass of wine as a pre-dinner snack. Although being me, I greedily gobbled half of them while they were still warm and am currently trying not to go back for the other half, so the family have a chance to try them!

A nice treat after schlepping around in the cold and dark after your little Halloween monsters :)