Paprika-Spiced Roasted Pumpkin Wedges with Crunchy Pumpkin Seeds
Roasted pumpkin wedges drizzled with super flavorful paprika oil, topped with herbs, parm and crunchy paprika-spiked toasted pumpkin seeds. See notes at the end for suggestions to prep ahead of time for a fancy dinner party.
Ingredients:
Pumpkin wedges roasted and drizzled with paprika oil and topped with parsley, sage, parmigiano-reggiano and crunchy paprika-spiced roasted pumpkin seeds.
1 three-pound pumpkin
About 1/2 cup flavorless oil, divided
2 teaspoons coarse salt such as Diamond Crystal (if using standard table salt, use half as much as indicated throughout)
1/4 teaspoon Organic Smoked Paprika
About 1 teaspoon Hot Hungarian Paprika or a couple pinches cayenne pepper
1 clove of garlic
Several grinds black pepper
1 teaspoon Hungarian Sweet Paprika
2 tablespoons fresh minced parsley
1 tablespoon fresh minced sage
1/4 cup finely shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano
1 half lime
Instructions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees with the rack in the middle position. Remove the top of the pumpkin, cut it into 8 equal wedges about 1.5 - 2 inches wide, remove the seeds and trim as needed to clean away the remaining stringy parts. Separately, combine the parsley and sage in a small bowl and set aside.
2) Separate the seeds from the stringy “guts” of the pumpkin. You should have about 3/4 cup of seeds. Toss the seeds with 1 tablespoon oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika. Add 1/2 - 3/4 teaspoon hot paprika or a generous pinch of cayenne pepper (depending on your heat preference). Spread the seeds evenly on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet and roast for about 15 minutes, tossing occasionally, until sizzling, crunchy and somewhat darkened.
3) While the seeds are cooking, warm 1/4 cup flavorless oil in a small saucepan over medium-low. Stir in 1 teaspoon salt and turn heat to low. Use a microplane or garlic press to pulverize the garlic clove and stir the pulp into the oil. The temperature should be low enough that the garlic flavor can permeate the oil without sizzling vigorously or browning. (If the temperature is too high the garlic could burn and turn bitter, so adjust as needed.) Let the garlic and salt infuse into the warm oil while you work on the next step.
4) When pumpkin seeds have finished cooking, remove them and increase the oven temperature to 375 degrees. Allow the pumpkin seeds to cool, then chop about 1/4 of them into crunchy bits about the size of large breadcrumbs. You should have about 3 tablespoons of chopped pumpkin seeds. (You can eat the rest of the roasted seeds for a snack!).
5) Brush the pumpkin wedges with oil and season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and several grinds of black pepper. Lay them on their sides, spread evenly on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet. Roast for about 15 minutes, flip them over, and roast for another 15 minutes or so. When done, the sides of each wedge should be lightly caramelized, and you should be able to easily pierce the flesh with a fork.
6) While the pumpkin wedges are cooking, stir 1 teaspoon sweet paprika and 1/4 teaspoon hot paprika (or a pinch of cayenne pepper) into the warm garlic oil to infuse while the pumpkin wedges are cooking. The spices should gently sizzle a bit when they hit the hot oil, but shouldn’t burn.
7) When the pumpkin is finished, arrange the wedges on a serving platter. Scrape across the flesh of each wedge with the tines of a fork, to make a ridged surface to hold more of the flavorful paprika oil on the pumpkin wedges. Spoon the paprika oil evenly over all the wedges, being careful to evenly distribute the spiced-garlic solids from the bottom of the pan as well. Top each wedge with parmigiano-reggiano, followed by the parsley-sage mixture. Distribute the chopped pumpkin seeds over each of the wedges, and finish by squeezing the lime over the wedges.
Notes:
I originally created this recipe for our Spice Club cooking class this October. I’ve always wanted to write a recipe using both the seeds and flesh of a pumpkin together, and voila, here we are!
The paprika oil in this dish is the BOMB. So incredibly tasty. You want each bite of pumpkin to be slathered with copious amounts of that glorious oil. And then you just can’t stop eating it. In fact, the only problem with this recipe is that all that delicious oil wants to run off your pumpkin wedges onto the serving platter below, where it can’t do anyone any good. Don’t let this happen! So in Step 7, be sure to scrape those pumpkin wedges as described, so you can capture as much of that shimmering goodness as possible. And also, whatever paprika oil inevitably ends up on the serving platter despite your best efforts must be reclaimed. Must! Just too good to waste.
To work ahead, for a party or fancy dinner, you can cut and prep the pumpkin, roast and chop the seeds, and make the paprika oil in advance. You can keep the cleaned pumpkin wedges covered in the fridge for a day or two. The cooled, chopped pumpkin seeds will keep in a covered container at room temperature for a couple weeks. and you can store the paprika oil covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. When it’s showtime, gently warm the oil in a small saucepan while you roast the pumpkin wedges, then assemble everything and serve.
To make this vegan, just sub nutritional yeast to taste for the parmigiano-reggiano.