Homemade Pumpkin Seed Snacks

I have a friend who has just been diagnosed with celiacs disease meaning that all of her favourite Saturday night t.v snacks have gone out of the window. Using my experiences of playing with flavours in the kitchen I thought I would come up with a few suggestions of tasty alternatives.

For more information on celiacs disease go to www.coeliac.org.uk

For these recipes you will need:

250g of raw hulled pumpkin seeds, they are sometimes called pepitas

1 tsp vegetable oil

Method:

Heat the oven to 375°F/190c/GM 8 and arrange a rack in the middle. Toss 250g pumpkin seeds with 1 teaspoons vegetable oil. 

Roast on a baking sheet, stirring every 5 minutes, until seeds are aromatic, crisp, and browned, about 10 to 15 minutes. Don’t leave them as they can catch really quickly.

Remove from the oven and while the seeds are warm, sprinkle with the following flavourings, and toss to combine.

Once made you can store these snacks for up to four days in an air tight container. 

Flavour combinations:

Simple Salt - Keep it simple and let the taste of the pumpkin seeds come through, toss the pumpkin seeds in 2 teaspoons of freshly ground salt. If you can find it Maldon salts do an amazing smoked salt that really would make this snack.

Salt and Pepper - Again this is a simple but it goes really well with a nice glass of red wine. Toss the pumpkin seeds in 2 teaspoons of freshly ground Salt and Pepper.

Smokey Mexican - I love the taste of mexican so I make up a large amount of this spice blend and use enough to taste, but for one portion you will need, 1/2 tsp of smoked (sweet) paprika, 1/2 tsp dried oregano (crush it finer using the back of a spoon), 1 tsp freshly ground salt, 1/2 tsp ground cumin and 1/2 tsp of garlic salt.

Spicy Indian - This makes for a nice warm flavour that will last for hours, you can make it spicier by increasing the chili powder. Mix together, 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/4 tsp ground coriander, 1/2 tsp ground chili flakes, 1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper, 1/4 tsp cinnamon and not forgetting a pinch of freshly ground salt. 

Texas Barbecue - A great flavour and one that makes for a nice summer party mix. Mix together, 1/2 tsp paprika, 1/2 tsp garlic salt, 1/4 tsp onion powder, 1/4 tsp caster sugar, 1/4 tsp chili ground flakes and an 1/8 tsp of mustard powder.

Hot and Spicy - This one is hot and spicy so consider yourself warned. Mix together, 2 tsp of freshly ground salt, 1 tsp of ground coriander and now for the heat 1 tsp of wasabi powder, you can find this in supermarkets and health food stores around the world food sections. A good tip here is start with a little wasabi powder, you can always add more.

Pumpkin Spice - This is a very traditional sweet flavouring you will see often used in pumpkin recipes. Mix together 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg, 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ground allspice and 2 tsp caster sugar.

Cinnamon Sugar - This one is so moreish, I end up making twice the amount every time. Mix together, 1 tsp ground cinnamon with 2 tsp of caster sugar. You can also use icing sugar, but you will get sticky fingers and spend the night licking them clean. 

I hope these ideas give you some inspiration yourself and you start to experiment with your own favourite flavours.