Stop! Hold it right there!
Have you carved your pumpkin yet? No? Well, you’ve come to the right place.
No, I cannot in any way help you with the carving of that pumpkin.. my general lack of patience causes me to completely suck at carving. However, I work grown-up gourmet magic with those slimy little seeds in the oven!
Is there anything that truly screams “Autumn!” more than a pan of freshly roasted pumpkin seeds coming out of the oven? This is a go-to tradition for so many pumpkin-carvers, but often we throw those slick babies in the oven half-heartedly, sprinkling them with salt and checking on the pan every so often to make sure they haven’t burned.
This year, I decided to roast a small batch after I carved a pumpkin “puking” guacamole for a kids’ party. I used a small pie pumpkin, so my batch is pretty little, but the technique was spot on and the flavor? Major upgrade.
I used white truffle oil for an earthy, aromatic element to the nutty, fibrous seeds. You only need a few drops–I used about 4–for enough of a heady taste. You could easily serve these at a Halloween party after carving up your jack-o-lanterns, or just hoard them as a savory, healthy snack during the day.
Truffle Pumpkin Seeds
Ingredients
- 1 cup Fresh pumpkin seeds , separate from membranes, rinsed, and dried
- 2 teaspoons butter
- 1 pinch generous salt
- 1 pinch freshly ground pepper
- 6-8 drops white truffle oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300º F. Melt butter and toss with pumpkin seeds in a bowl. Add a generous pinch of kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Spread out on a baking sheet lined with foil (for easy cleanup).
- Roast pumpkin seeds about 40 minutes, moving/flipping with a spatula once. Remove from the oven and use foil to lift the seeds and place into a bowl. Add a few drops of truffle oil (4-8 will do the trick) and toss. Start with a lesser amount and gradually add more to get the right taste. Serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
Cheryl Malik is the recipe developer, writer, and photographer behind the healthy, flavorful, family friendly recipes at 40 Aprons. She’s been a blogger for 10 years and is known for her delicious recipes and detailed recipe instructions. Cheryl is a mom of two who lives in Memphis, TN.
ateaspoonofhappiness says
Yummy! I’ve never tried truffle oil before, but I love a good back of salty pumpkin seeds. I may just have to roast myself up a batch next pumpkin season. I’m leaving for Kazkahstan this week so sadly I will have to put pumpkin things on the back burner for a while. But now I have something to look forward to!
thestylistquo says
Kazakhstan?! How cool! What for?
ateaspoonofhappiness says
My husband is there for work, and I’ll be joining him for a few months. Hopefully I’ll learn some cool new cookery things to share some day, but we’ll see!
Erica {Coffee & Quinoa} says
Oooh you had me at truffle! I love truffled ANYTHING and the crunchiness of pumpkin seeds gets me every time – so addictive. Like you, I’m too impatient for pumpkin carving, but I’m ALL about the seeds!
thestylistquo says
Yes! My mind wanders to embarrassing places when it’s truffle-brainstorming. “Truffled tuna sala–wait, no, Cheryl, that makes no sense, thank God you didn’t say that out loud..” etc. 😀
DessertForTwo says
You’re a genius! I’ve had a teeny tiny bottle of truffle oil in my cupboard for too long. It must be used on pepitas! 🙂
thestylistquo says
It’s so unexpected but so, so right! And a teeny tiny bottle is all you need when it comes to truffle oil! 🙂