Roasted pumpkin seeds with lime and garlic
There are so many things that can go wrong in a day. Forgetting to put out the garbage, missing your bus, refereeing sibling rivalry, or the mail getting soaked. And bigger things, too – losing your job, getting your feelings hurt, worrying about bills.
And that’s what I love about stepping into the kitchen – it’s a daily chance for something to go right. And even if your venture fails spectacularly, at least you’ve been doing something with your hands, creating something, being generative instead of reacting or solving problems.
Carving pumpkins with the kids yesterday, I was scheming about how the pumpkin seeds could go right. It seems like a lot of work in the moment – separating stringy flesh from seeds, making sure kids don’t fling them everywhere. Finally, a precious bowlful. Curry powder? Cinnamon? Chili powder?
I settled on lime zest, olive oil, and garlic powder. I don’t use garlic powder a lot, but it’s magical, in its way. Fresh garlic on these would be totally overpowering and would burn in a second.
These were so good. Last night for Yancey’s birthday dinner, we had french onion soup, salad with pomegranates and goat cheese, and caramel apple cake. But these stole the show. Three cheers for little things going right.
Roasted pumpkin seeds with lime and garlic
Seeds from 1 pumpkin
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Zest of 1 lime
1 teaspoon garlic powder
Extract the seeds from one big pumpkin or two smaller ones. Put them in a colander and rinse really well, pulling off any strands of flesh. Shake vigorously, removing as much water as possible. In a medium bowl, toss pumpkin seeds with coarse salt, extra virgin olive oil, finely grated zest of one lime (making sure not to get any lime pith in there–very bitter), and garlic powder. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, then spread pumpkin seeds out in a single layer. Roast at 375 degrees F. for about 15 minutes, stirring once or twice. Remove from oven when seeds are dry, golden and dark brown in places, and sizzling. Let cool. They’ll get more crunchy as they cool. Add a little more lime zest and salt after they’ve cooled.
Sarah Murphy-Kangas blogs In Praise of Leftovers.
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