There are pumpkin pie recipes in just about every good American style cookbook out there. Many of us have old handwritten recipes from our moms from their grandmas from their mothers stuffed in scrapbooks and the family herbal. Some of us love pumpkins so much we've invented our own recipes. Below you will find thorough instructions.
Most post-modern pumpkin pie recipes call for "canned" pumpkin, which means commercially processed pumpkin. As far as canned vegetables go, pumpkin does can well. but If you've grown your own pumpkins, you'll want to use fresh pumpkin for the pie. It's not difficult to do and the results are delicious and healthful.
For a classic 9 inch pie, you will need about 2 cups of Pumpkin Purée. A small pumpkin will produce about that much. A medium pumpkin will make a couple pies. A large pumpkin will have enough for soups and spreads, etc.
If you've never cooked your own pumpkin before, there are basically three ways to cook your pumpkin.
Prepare your pumpkin for boiling or steaming: with a long, sharp knife, cut your pumpkin in half. Scrape out and remove the seeds and stringy innards with a heavy spoon. Save the seeds for roasting. Cut each half into several pieces large enough to hold easily in your hands while you peel the outer skin away. Feed the peels and stringy innards to your worms in the garden compost. After peeling, you can cut the pumpkin pieces into smaller chunks.
Boil your pumpkin: place the pumpkin chunks in enough fresh water to cover. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for just under 30 minutes. You can poke the pumpkin pieces with a fork to make sure they are nice and tender. Purée the cooked pumpkin with a potato masher or whip it up in a food processor.
Steam your pumpkin: place the pumpkin chunks in a large steamer. If you don't have a steamer, you can use a large stainless steel colander that fits into a large soup pot. Put about an inch of water in the bottom of the pot. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for about 45 minutes. Test the pumpkin for tenderness. A nice simmer for another 10 to 15 minutes will be fine. Purée the cooked pumpkin with a potato masher or whip it up in a food processor.
Bake your pumpkin: Turn the oven on. Set the temperature to 375 degrees F. Spray a large cookie sheet with an organic, neutral tasting oil spray, or lightly oil the sheet with a teaspoon of liquid oil. You can use pumpkin seed oil for radical authenticity if you can find it at your local health food shop. Using a long, sharp knife, cut your pumpkin in half. Place each half skin side up on the baking sheet. Bake on a middle rack of the oven for about an hour. Once baked through, remove the pumpkins from the oven and let cool somewhat. Turn each half over and scoop out the flesh with a large heavy spoon. Purée the pumpkin with a potato masher or whip it with a kitchen fork or whisk.
Prepare the pie pastry:
- 1 1/2 cups organic unbleached white flour
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 1/2 sticks of well chilled butter from happy, organically grown, cows
- 3 tablespoons filtered ice water
Sift the flour and salt together into a large mixing bowl. Cut the butter into small pieces with a butter knife. Drop the butter pieces onto the flour/salt mixture. Use a pastry blender, fusing the butter with the flour until the mixture resembles medium fine bread crumbs. Add an ice cube to your water to make sure it's nice and cold. Add the water, a single tablespoon at a time. Toss the flour/salt/butter mixture with a fork after you add each tablespoon of water. Be very sparing with the water. After two tablespoons, begin working the dough with your fingers. Work it for a few minutes to see if the flour mixture begins to stick together. Add the third tablespoon of water only if the dough refuses to form. After the perfect amount of water has been added, press the flour mixture into a ball, then flatten it into a thick round. It will have a firm consistency. Wrap this in waxed paper or a recycled piece of plastic wrap. Chill it in the refrigerator for at least half an hour.
Preparing the pie filling:
- 1/2 turbinado or raw sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 3/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 cups pumpkin purée
- 1/4 organic maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon Woodford Reserve or other fine Whiskey
- 2 cups heavy organic cream
- 3 free range, vegetarian fed happy chicken eggs
Preheat the oven to 425° F. Take the pie dough from the fridge, on a flowered surface, roll out the pastry to fit a 9 inch pie pan. Rum a small piece of butter to grease the pan before placing the pastry.
In a large bowl, combine the sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground ginger and sea salt. Add the pumpkin, maple syrup, whiskey and cream. Whip with a strong wooden spoon until thoroughly mixed. Separate the eggs. Beat the yolks well, then add to the pumpkin mixture. Beat with the wooden spoon until thoroughly mixed. Beat the whites with a wire whisk until they form stiff peaks (you can use an electric mixer if you really want to). Fold the egg whites into the pumpkin. Pour this into the pastry shell.
Baking the pie:
Bake the pie at 425° F. for 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to 325° F. and bake for up to 45 minutes more. Begin to check the pie at 30 minutes to make sure it doesn't overcook. The pie is done if a knife inserted in the center comes out more than less clean.
This pie is delicious served warm or cold, but especially nice and warm with whipped cream on top. Don't forget a nice hot cup of coffee with a shot of that Woodford Reserve on the side.
