Roasted Sunflower Seeds (in Shell)

Growing sunflowers? Harvest and roast the seeds the right way. If you grow your own sunflowers, the flowers will tell you when they are ready. They'll be droopy and the petals around the center will be dried. The seeds should be clearly visible. The best seeds for eating come from the larger varieties of sunflowers. Just cut away the flower head from the stalk, place the flower head on a flat surface,and rub the center to dislodge the seeds from the flower. If squirrels and birds can get to these seeds, so can you. These directions are for salted, roasted sunflower seeds. If you don't want them salted, just rinse them off and roast them.

1 cup raw in-shell sunflower seeds
2½ Tbsp. Kosher or sea salt
1 qt water

Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C/180°C fan, Gas Mark 6).

Boil sunflower seeds in salted water:
Place sunflower seeds, salt, and water into a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and simmer for 15-20 minutes.

Spread seeds on a sheet pan and roast:
Drain the water from the seeds and spread the seeds out in a single layer in a sheet pan. Place in the preheated oven on the top rack and roast for 10-20 minutes.

Starting at about 10 minutes, I recommend taking a few out of the oven to test. If they are not roasted yet to your satisfaction, return them to the oven for another 2-5 minutes, or as long as it takes until they are dry enough and roasted to your satisfaction. Keep checking every few minutes.

The seeds can quickly go from done (dry and easy to bite to open) to charred (browned on the outside and black on the inside). So as the time gets closer, keep an eye on it.

Makes 1 cup or 4 servings.