Praise for the Pumpkin
Pumpkin season is upon us! With Halloween approaching, pumpkins are popping up in windows and doorways everywhere, but they are not just for carving! With winter looming we find ourselves turning to root vegetables for warm comforting foods and pumpkins are the perfect ingredient!
A personal favourite is roasted pumpkin. It's crisp and sweet, making for a perfect vegetable side, salad ingredient or even blitzed for pumpkin soup.
To roast, simply remove the seeds and chop the pumpkin into chunks (skin on or off). Place the pumpkin in a bowl with 2 tbsp of rapeseed oil and a generous pinch of Achill Island Sea Salt and mix. Place on a tray in the oven at 190°C for 30-40 minutes and enjoy!
But, the real charm to a pumpkin however, is its seeds. These are often discarded, but simply toasting them creates a delicious, crunchy snack and are good source of zinc and magnesium.
We toasted the seeds in Emerald Oils Rapeseed oil and Achill Island Sea Salt but you could experiment with different spices, such as chilli or cumin. They are great sprinkled over soups, salads and a perfect on-the-go snack.
Toasted Pumpkin Seeds:
- Scoop out the seeds from the pumpkin and separate them from the flesh
- Rinse thoroughly and place in a pot of boiling salted water for 5 minutes
- Drain and dry the seeds on a sheet of kitchen paper
- Drizzle the seeds with 1 Tbsp of rapeseed oil and sprinkle with Achill Island Sea Salt
- Place in the oven at 150°C for 15-20 minutes until the seeds are lightly toasted and have a crisp texture.
- Store in an air-tight container for 3-5 days
Top tip: Rather than throwing out your empty Achill Island Sea Salt tubs why not re-use them as a container for the roasted pumpkin seeds!
