Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Next time you eat pumpkin, save the seeds so that you can roast them in your oven for a fat-free, healthy and delicious snack. You can make them savoury or sweet, whichever you prefer.

Ingredients

pumpkin seeds
salt
olive oil
spice of your choice - cayenne pepper, paprika, garlic/onion powder, nutmeg, allspice, cinnamon, curry powder, etc.

Method:

1. Wash your seeds. Boil them in salt water for 10 min, drain and set aside. Pat dry before baking them.

2. Preheat oven to 200C degrees.

3. Coat seeds with olive oil, salt and spice. Spread seeds out evenly in one layer in the roasting pan. Bake until the seeds begin to brown, about 10-20 minutes.

4. Let roasted seeds cool before consuming. Keep in airtight container.

Hassleback Potatoes

This side dish is not new. I've seen this around and understandably it has the 'wow' factor, design to impress your guest.

As you know, Christmas and New Year are just around the corner, don't you think this dish would just be perfect next to your roast? Best of all, its fairly easy to make. I used the word 'fairly easy' as it could be a little tricky slicing the potato thinly without through the potato. But discovered that if you wedge the potato in between a pair of chopsticks, you'll have a smoother experience!!

There are many various you can make this - original with some salt and pepper, garlic, sour cream, cheese, herbs - really, the list of possibilities seems endless!

Ingredients
6 potatoes, washed and pat dry
2 tbsp olive oil
30 g butter
sea salt
freshly cracked black pepper

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 220C degrees.

2. Place on a chopping board, flat side down. Start from one end of the potato, cut almost all the way through, at about 3 to 4 mm intervals. Cut the potato thinner so that it will fan out nicer. If you cut it too fat, it will not look as delicate.

3. Arrange potatoes on a baking tray and scatter some butter in between the potato slits. Drizzle some olive oil and sprinkle some sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

4. Bake potatoes for about 40 minutes.

Crispy on the outside and soft and fluffy inside, yum!