Roasted Pumpkin Seeds; Salty or Sweet

by Danielle Margulies

Welcome to our new feature: Allergy Friendly where we will be featuring a recipe or product each week that is ... allergy friendly!
Since joining Supermarketguru.com I've been amazed at the number of readers who are dealing with food allergies - as I am myself, so we thought it was time to introduce a page where each week we'll feature a great recipe or product for all you fellow allergy sufferers out there!

One of the things that's hard to find when you have food allergies are satisfying snack foods - it can also be hard to find something when you're entertaining that you can tolerate and that doesn’t send your guests running to the nearest fast food joint on their way home! Or on the other side of the coin – when you're entertaining and have those dreaded guests coming over with food allergies – what do you feed them?

This week's recipe features pumpkin seeds roasted two different ways - to satisfy your sweet and salty cravings - I eat a handful of these, prepared one way or the other, every day. An allergy to pumpkin seeds is considered to be rare, and they are also considered a super food and are exceptionally good for you.

They are a good source of protein, fiber and four very important minerals: magnesium, calcium, zinc and iron. They also contain vitamins K, C, D, E and most of the B vitamins and are a great source of omega-3 essential fatty acid and contain amino acids, potassium, niacin and phosphorous.
On top of all that pumpkin seeds also contain enzymes that can aid digestion.
Pretty impressive!

Raw pumpkin seeds are widely available – try and get organic if you can and if you are using fresh from the pumpkin here are a couple of tips:
Rinse them well and remove any last traces of pulp and fibers (vigorous swishing around in a colander usually does the trick, but it's a finicky business),
Let them soak in water for a few hours before roasting – otherwise they'll be jaw-achingly crunchy, (no need to soak them if you're using pre-packaged.)

Roasted Pumpkin Seed Brittle
Ingredients:
Raw pumpkin seeds
1 1/2 tablespoons Agave syrup per 1/2 a cup pumpkin seeds
Butter or oil for greasing the cooling dish

Instructions:
Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees.
Spread out your desired amount of pumpkin seeds on a glass or ceramic baking dish – two seeds in depth is fine – a thinner layer will cook more quickly.
Roast the seeds for 20 minutes – you might begin to hear an occasional popping sound.
Take them out of the oven and drizzle the Agave syrup over the seeds – it will sizzle as you pour it on.
Return to the oven for another 5 minutes, during which time the Agave should caramelize, but not burn.
Carefully pour the seeds onto a greased dish forming a disk shape.
As the seeds cool the shape will harden, once it's cool break it into bite size pieces and enjoy!

Salty Roasted Pumpkin Seeds with Olive Oil (Spicy if you like)
Ingredients:
Raw pumpkin seeds
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil per 1/2 a cup pumpkin seeds
Salt and cayenne pepper (optional) to taste

Instructions:
Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees.
Spread out your desired amount of pumpkin seeds on a glass or ceramic baking dish – two seeds in depth is fine – a thinner layer will cook more quickly.
After 15 minutes give them a shake around to even out browning and remove from the oven after 25 minutes.
Pour the seeds into a serving dish, drizzle with the olive oil, sprinkle with salt and cayenne if you like, (the oil will probably sizzle a little) – let cool and enjoy!

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