Candied Pumpkin Seeds
Today at Martin Berasategui, I learned how to make pepitas garrapiñadas, candied pumpkin seeds. The pepitaswill be the crunchy garnish on a chocolate mousse dessert, providing both a textural and a taste contrast to the sweetness of the rest of the plate.
The smell of the sugar caramelizing over the seeds reminded me of New York City street vendors, hawking candied nuts on cold winter afternoons. After observing our chefs de partie execute the recipe, I asked for the amounts. The whole process takes about three minutes, and the end result is so good, you’ll be snacking for hours.
I bet you can't eat just one...
Candied Pumpkin Seeds
100 grams granulated sugar
100 grams pumpkin seeds
50 grams water
Mix the sugar and water in a medium skillet with a wooden spoon. Cook on medium heat until 114degrees C, thread stage. If you don’t have a candy thermometer, no worries. The mixture will look like syrup that bubbles evenly all over the surface; the bubbles should be all about the same size, with no browned color at all.)
Turn the heat down to low and add all the pumpkin seeds. Stir constantly to avoid burning and to coat evenly all the seeds. Eventually, the sugar coating will brown and leave the pepitas with a crunchy shell. Pour the candied seeds onto a sheet of parchment paper and let cool.
Tip for washing your skillet: the sugar will leave a hard residue, so fill the skillet with water and return it to the burner. Let the water come back up to a boil and voila- the hard work is done for you.
Enjoy these pepitas garrapiñadas as a topping on ice cream or just as a pop ’em snack. I have a sneaky feeling they’d go great with a cold beer.
