Melon is an essential fruit in summer. With its sweet aromas, it delights young and old and provides a good dose of hydration thanks to its richness in water. Last year, we gave you the secrets to choosing the right one. This year, discover that as with the melon skin, it is possible to avoid wasting melon seeds… by cooking them! With the easy, quick and original recipe that we present to you, you can enjoy filling up on good nutrients (vitamin B, antioxidants, proteins, mineral salts, etc.) and limiting your waste. No more trash for your seeds!
The ingredients:
Melon
Salt (you can choose a flavored one to add a little extra)
Optional: spices to add more flavor (Espelette pepper, curry, paprika, etc.)
Good to know: you can also use this recipe when it’s squash season so as not to waste the cucurbit seeds 😉 Such a tasty and fragrant idea!
The recipe for an aperitif with melon seeds:
1) When preparing the melon, reserve the seeds in a bowl.
2) You can then clean carefully to remove the pulp clinging to it.
3) Using a cloth, wipe your seeds to remove any traces of moisture.
4) You can now move on to cooking! Cook your seeds over low heat for four to five minutes. You have to stir them well and make sure they don’t burn.
5) Once they are nicely grilledput them in a bowl and sprinkle with salt. You can also add spices and mix everything with other seeds (sunflower, sesame, etc.) to make a nice mix.
And there you have it! Your original and tasty appetizer seeds are ready to be devoured. You can eat them whole or remove the shell if you prefer. Also remember to use a few seeds to decorate your homemade gazpacho. With a few shreds of very finely cut Serrano ham and crumbled hard-boiled egg, it’s very pretty, crunchy and delicious!
Other ideas for recycling melon seeds
There are many ideas for recycling the seeds from your melons. Often discarded, these seeds are actually a nutrient-rich resource and can be used in different ways in cooking and beyond. Here are some ideas to enhance them.
Melon seeds in cooking
For example, you can mix them before adding them to smoothies to a richer texture and a supply of protein and fiber. For a refreshing drink, you can also mix them with water, filter the mixture and obtain a kind of sweet vegetable milkperfect as a base for cocktails or energy drinks.
Like sunflower or pumpkin seeds, melon seeds can be used to prepare an original pesto. Simply mix them with basil, garlic, olive oil, and parmesan. You will get a tasty sauce to accompany pasta or vegetables. After drying them well, the melon seeds can finally be ground into a fine powder to use as flour in gluten-free recipes. This flour is rich in protein and fiber, which adds extra nutritional value to your breads, cakes, or cookies.
Beauty and garden
Rich in antioxidants and fatty acidsthe oil extracted from melon seeds is valuable for the skin. You can infuse the seeds in neutral vegetable oil to create a massage oil or natural moisturizer for the body. In the garden, melon seeds can be used to start new plants. Dried, then planted, they will then give new melon plants. Otherwise, they can add to compost to enrich the soil with nutrients and thus promote the growth of plants in the garden or vegetable patch. This little-known ecological approach allows for really useful recycling!
To avoid food waste, know that you can reuse many peelings and barks. In terms of summer fruits, you can also learn how to cook the unusual parts of the watermelon such as the rinds or the watermelon seeds.