Veggie-licious's Recipe

Savory Pumpkin Seeds

Category: Appetizers and Snacks

When you're scooping out your fresh pumpkin, don't toss out the gooey mess and its entangled seeds. You have a great snack in your hands. Separate out the larger wads of flesh and roast the moist, unwashed seeds as described below; that orange slime will form a deliciously salty, crunchy coating on the seeds.

In a 10" x 15" (or so) baking pan, mix:

2 cups unwashed pumpkin seeds
1 1/2 Tbs melted butter
1 1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp Worcestershire.

Spread seeds out in pan. Bake in a 250 oven, stirring occasionally, until browned and crisp, about 2 hrs. Serve warm or cool. You can store seeds in an airtight (let them cool first) container.

NOTE pumpkin seeds are a great source of iron, copper, protein, magnesium, B vitamins and monounsaturated fats; also contain phytosterols, ingredients found in plants. Phytosterols have a chemical structure similar to cholesterol. When included in your diet, they are believed to lower your blood cholesterol levels. They are the third highest phytosterol-containing seeds, after sunflower and pistachios.