Test Kitchen Notes: Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

As children, we loved making Jack O'Lanterns, and one of the best parts was digging our hands into the guts of the pumpkin and pulling out the seeds. The stringy, gooey mess was fun to play with, but with a little work, we also found that the roasted seeds could be a yummy snack.

In Mexico, pepitas are a favorite savory snack. Lightly toasted with salt, sugar, and a hint of chipotle chile, they are a perfect addition to a snack tray for a card game or a pre-dinner cocktail.

Pepitas

1 cup pumpkin seeds
3 garlic cloves, minced
kosher or sea salt, to taste
2 teaspoons crushed dried cipotle chiles
sugar, to taste
lime wedges, to serve

Scoop the seeds out of a pumpkin and rinse them briskly in a bowl of water to separate out the strings. Lay the seeds out on paper towels and blot well to dry.

Heat a heavy bottomed sauté pan over medium-high heat and add the pumpkin seeds, dry-frying them for a few minutes. They will dry out and begin to swell. Be sure to keep the seeds moving in the pan so they don't burn.

After the seeds have puffed up, add the minced garlic and sauté for a few minutes more, adding the salt and crushed chipotles. Remove from the heat and sprinkle the sugar over the seeds, then shake the pan well to coat the seeds.

Serve the pepitas hot with wedges of lime for squeezing over the hot seeds.

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