When I was little, one of my favorite parts of Halloween was eating handfuls of delicious roasted pumpkin seeds. I wasn’t all that good at the artistic carving end of things, but the reward of crunchy, toasty seeds was enough to motivate me to end up elbow-deep in a big pumpkin every year.

Removing all those slimy, orange guts is truly an unpleasant and messy endeavor, and separating the seeds out takes time and patience. I think the effort is worth it, though, especially when the seeds are spiced with a Ras el Hanout spice blend. It’s a perfect complement to the seeds’ nutty flavor, an unexpected and welcome twist on a childhood favorite.

Ras el Hanout Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

seeds from 2 large pumpkins, cleaned, rinsed and dried
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 1/4 tsp. Ras el Hanout
1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1. Preheat oven to 300F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Spread out pumpkin seeds on the parchment paper and sprinkle with olive oil, spice blend and salt. Use your hands to toss the seeds until they are evenly coated with spices.

3. Roast the pumpkin seeds for an hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Cool and eat.