What often happens to me is that when I have sourdough bread I have nothing to put a slice of it on. And when the fridge is full of pesto, cheese, fresh vegetables, etc., I don't have my sourdough bread (I could call that bad planning). This time I wanted to be no exception (read: no bread in sight), so I decided to make something I could still eat with my spoon guilt-free. Thus was born my pumpkin seed pesto roasted with pumpkin seed oil. The best part, this is a vegan pumpkin seed pesto!
Table of Contents
- 150 g pumpkin seeds
- 80–90 g pumpkin seed oil
- 4 small pinches of finely ground sea salt or to taste
- Optional: minced garlic
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Roast the pumpkin seeds for 6-8 minutes at 180°C/350°F.
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Let them cool.
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Put the seeds in a blender or food processor and first grind them semi-finely, remove 3-4 tablespoons into a jar and then grind them finely again.
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Transfer the ground seeds to a jar, salt to taste and pour in the pumpkin seed oil to obtain a well-melted consistency.
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Enjoy fresh or refrigerate.
endnoteS
- To make larger quantities, scale accordingly
- Cooking time: 8 min
About Pumpkin Seeds (Kernels) and Oil
Whenever I think of pumpkin seeds, I am reminded of my mother's words about how they were her childhood candy. She lived in the countryside where “real” sweets were something completely out of reach. 30 years later, she passed her healthy eating habit on to me and my brother, and we often took pumpkin seeds with us on a school trip that kept us full for a long time.
Pumpkin seeds are a true nutrient rich food as they provide a number of benefits to our body.
They:
- contain a variety of antioxidants
- are a rich source of vitamins (especially E) and minerals such as phosphorus, magnesium, manganese, copper, iron and zinc. Zinc is important for sleep, mood, skin and prostate health, and magnesium is beneficial for blood pressure.
- are an excellent source of plant-based omega 3 fats
- they are rich in amino acids and fiber. One of the important amino acids is tryptophan which is converted into serotonin and then into melatonin, a sleep hormone.
- are rich in natural phytoestrogens, being useful for menopausal women
In Slovenia, pumpkin seed oil is considered a true delicacy and is made from an indigenous pumpkin variety called Slovenska golica (Pumpkin pie L.). Yellow squash with green stripes are grown mainly for their seeds which are cut and do not need to be cut before they make oil.
Roasted Pumpkin Seed Pesto with Pumpkin Oil
Ingredients
- 150 g of pumpkin seeds
- 80-90 g pumpkin seed oil
- 4 small pinches of finely ground sea salt or to taste
- Optional: minced garlic
note: to make larger quantities, scale accordingly
GUIDELINES
- Roast the pumpkin seeds for 6-8 minutes at 180°C/350°F.
- Let them cool.
- Transfer the seeds to a blender or food processor and first grind them semi-finely (photo below left), remove 3-4 tablespoons of it into a jar and then finely chop the rest (photo below right).
- Transfer the ground seeds to a jar, salt to taste and pour in the pumpkin seed oil to obtain a well-melted consistency.
- Enjoy fresh or refrigerate.
You can use this pumpkin seed pesto for pasta, soups. It's also perfect in polenta. We spread it on a slice of sourdough bread or mix it into salads.
Better yet, you can make pumpkin pesto sourdough breadjust like i did!
You can also view other wonderful sourdough pairings in my blog post.
Additional health tips for pumpkin seed pesto
To save healthy unsaturated fats it is better to eat pumpkin seeds raw. If you want to make the pesto even healthier, skip the baking step and continue as written above or bake at low temperatures, at 70°C/160°F for 15-20 minutes. That way, you'll still be able to enjoy the nutty flavor and aroma of the roasted seeds. This also applies to toasted pumpkin seeds.
Like other nuts, pumpkin seeds contain anti-nutrient phytic acid which may hinder the availability of the aforementioned minerals. If eaten in larger quantities, it is advisable to soak or sprout the seeds and then dehydrate them to make them more palatable.
If you want to make pumpkin puree sourdough, check out mine pumpkin dough rolls.
Let me know if you make this pumpkin seed pesto recipe! Did you use olive oil instead of the one I used? Have you added garlic cloves to your homemade pesto?
Speaking of garlic, don't miss it wild garlic bread recipe!
Pumpkin Seed Pesto FAQs
Can you substitute pumpkin seeds for pine nuts in pesto?
yes, you can replace pumpkin seeds for pine nuts in pesto. Pine nuts are a traditional ingredient in pesto, but they can be expensive and sometimes hard to find. Pumpkin seeds, on the other hand, are more readily available and affordable.
How to make pesto with pumpkin seeds instead of pine nuts?
To make pumpkin seed pesto, simply replace the pine nuts with an equal amount of pumpkin seeds in your favorite pesto recipe. You may need to adjust the amount of salt and garlic to suit your taste as pumpkin seeds have a different flavor than pine nuts.
Are pumpkin seeds pine nuts?
No, Pumpkin seeds are not pine nuts. They come from different types of plants and have distinct flavor profiles and nutritional profiles. While pumpkin seeds and pine nuts are nutritious and versatile ingredients, they have different flavor profiles and are not interchangeable in recipes that specifically call for one or the other.
