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In this recipe round up, I have gathered my best and most delicious summer salad meal recipes in one post, for days when it’s too hot to cook!
February 3, 2019
Pumpkin Seed Salsa
My dearly-loved pumpkin seed salsa recipe is a winter time winner - the rich, nutty pumpkin seeds enhance out-of-season tomatoes to acheive a super flavourful and eminently scoop-able appetizer.
*GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED – THANK YOU!*
Pumpkin seeds don’t often elicit the kind of fanatic devotion that, say, pine nuts or hazelnuts do. However, if you have access to really fresh ones, pumpkin seeds are AMAZING.
They have a full, rich, nutty sweetness, with a complexity of flavour that suits all kinds of recipes. They have off-the-charts health benefits. They last a long time without going rancid. And did I mention they are delicious?
We tend to snack on pumpkin seeds in nut mixes and granola, but they can be used in any sweet or savoury dish where you might use nuts (pesto, I’m talking to you). Mexicans are way ahead of us in this respect; pepitas (as they are called in Spanish) are used to enhance and garnish all kinds of foods.
My pumpkin seed salsa is a long time favourite recipe. It’s a basic fresh tomato salsa with finely chopped toasted pumpkin seeds mixed in. These add a rich, nutty flavour, and soak up some of the liquid produced by the fresh tomato and lime, helping to make the salsa more chip-scoop-friendly.
Pumpkinseed salsa a great recipe to crack out in the winter time, when the tomatoes might not be at their best – the toasted pumpkin seeds (with friends fresh lime and cilantro) cover for a slightly sad tomato.
This recipe also works will with canned tomatoes – which helps with the grocery budget.
Of course, I wholeheartedly recommend using Rancho Vignola organic pumpkin seeds. As you know, I am a huge fan of their products – the absolute freshness and quality of everything they sell, from nuts, to seeds, to dried fruit, to confections, is bar none.
As such, their pumpkin seeds are always fresh, always full of flavour, and always come in an unusual very dark green (almost black) colour that I have come to adore.
Pumpkin Seed Salsa
Pumpkin Seed Salsa is made with nutty toasted pumpkin seeds, chopped and mixed with fresh red salsa ingredients. It’s a perfect wintertime snack — a delicious taste of sunshine. This nutty, flavourful salsa is a delight in the winter months.
Ingredients
160 ml (⅔ cup) raw green pumpkin seeds
2 large cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1 large shallot, peeled and chopped
1 small jalapeno, seeded and chopped
30 ml (2 Tb) extra-virgin olive oil
4 ml (¾ tsp) sea salt
2.5 ml (½ tsp) white sugar
45 ml (3 Tb) fresh lime juice
2.5 ml (½ tsp) chipotle puree (I make this myself using canned chipotle, pureed with a hand blender)
½ bunch of cilantro, leaves and soft stems included
750 ml (3 cups) roughly chopped ripe tomatoes (go for the pricier small vine-ripened tomatoes in the winter months)
Instructions
- Toast the pumpkin seeds in your toaster oven until most of the seeds pop, but make sure they don’t burn. Stir once or twice while the seeds are cooking. They will take from 5 to 8 minutes to toast. Set aside to cool.
- In a food processor, puree everything except pumpkin seeds and tomatoes. Add the pumpkin seeds and process until the pumpkin seeds are finely ground, but not totally to a puree. Add all the tomatoes with their juice and process again until the tomatoes are chopped small. Taste for salt, sugar and lime – you may need to add more of each.
- The finished salsa will be on the smooth side, a bit runny, but still scoopable with a tortilla chip. And most importantly, it will be delicious.
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Heidi, the Indian/Moroccan fusion sounds like a great class. I would love to know more about cooking with seeds, nuts and fruit. I totally enjoyed the Rancho Vignola show in Victoria last year. I would love to attend this class.
Heidi IS THE Best Chef I Know of!!!
Shari, Calgary.
Ooh! Yes please! Moroccan – Indian fusion … yum!!
Hi Heidi, Indian/Moroccan fusion makes my mouth water, thinking of all the favours infused in these cultures.
Pureeing canned chipotles with a handblender is genius! Do you do it in a ramekin?
Cathleen, I usually puree the whole can (or two cans) in a food processor. But if I were to use a hand blender, I would put the chipotles in a mug, to contain the splatters.
Would love to win this! Thank you Rancho Vignola!
I love all your recipes. The tours of nutitional Victoria have been brilliant. I look forward to the class with or without the duscount.
I hope I. can learn how to make a tasty naan that’s GF for my child who’s celiac, thank you
I mastered (in my own way :)) Thai cooking after taking your fabulous classes – so maybe now it is time to move on to something new!
Curious to know if you would sacrifice much flavor if you got rid of the sugar entirely or replaced it with something like erythritol.
I am also excited to possibly be part of a half-price cooking class especially catered to the gluten-free. I am celiac but also love good food, and am just beginning to learn to do gluten free in a healthier way.
You can remove the sugar, for sure. It’s just to make up for winter tomatoes which don’t have the sweetness of summer ones. You can also reduce the lime by a bit if you want it less tart.
Sounds awesome!
Would love to try one of your classes! Sounds delicious.