Saturday, I made a couple of pies this weekend, one pumpkin, and one with a red curry squash. Both are gone. Must… make… more.
For the crust, you can either buy the pre-made frozen crusts at the grocery store (they come in packs of two), or you can make your own. Here’s how to make your own, using the recipe Lisa provided last year.
Pastry blender Pie crust — makes two 9″ crusts
2 1/2 C flour
1/2 t salt
12 T butter
6-7 T cold water
- Mix the flour and salt
- Using a pastry blender, cut the butter into the flour until it resembles a coarse meal, almost like tiny peas.
- Sprinkle water over the flour mixture, a tablespoon at a time, and mix with a fork. Use only enough water so that the pastry will hold together when gently pressed into a ball.
- Divide the dough into two balls. Flour two pieces of wax paper. Flatten a ball in the middle of one piece of paper. Cover with the other piece of wax paper, and roll out so it’s about 2″ larger than the pie pan. Repeat with the second ball.
- Put in the freezer for 5 minutes — this helps separate the dough from the paper. Peel both papers and put in a greased pie pan.
To cook the pumpkin or squash, cut it into eighths, scraping out the seeds and the goo. Save the seeds for later. Put it in a big pot, fill with water, and boil. You can also steam the pumpkin. (I don’t do this because my steamer’s too small.)
Drain the pumpkin well. Since I boiled mine, I put it in a colander for about 20 minutes. Peel
The pie recipe is familiar, though a bit more aggressive on the spices. When I can, I prefer to use fresh, mashed pumpkin because I prefer the grainy texture.
Pumpkin Pie
Pastry dough for a 9″ pie shell
1 1/2 C pumpkin, mashed
1 C brown sugar
1 T cinnamon
1 t powdered ginger
1 t ground cloves
1 can (15 ounces) evaporated milk
2 eggs
- Preheat oven to 425°F/220°C.
- Beat the egg. Mix in the rest of the ingredients in a large bowl and stir until smooth.
- Bake for 10 minutes, then lower the heat to 300°F/150°C, and bake for 45 minutes, until the filling is firm.
Regarding the seeds, just wash them, and remove the bigger parts of the pumpkin innards. Dry the seeds paper towels, then place them on an oiled cookie sheet (or lasagna pan). Bake at 250°F for at least an hour, stirring them a few times in the process. Salt and enjoy. Store them in a baggie.
When sweet potatoes on sale in a couple of weeks, I’m going to make a sweet potato pie. This recipe is similar to the pumpkin pie, except instead of cloves and ginger, we use nutmeg and a little rum.
Sweet Potato Pie
9″ pie shell
2 C mashed, cooked sweet potatoes
3/4 C brown sugar
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t ground nutmeg
2 T rum
4 T melted butter
1 1/4 C milk
2 eggs
- Preheat oven to 425°F/220°C.
- Beat the egg. Mix in the rest of the ingredients in a large bowl and stir until smooth.
- Bake for 10 minutes, then lower the heat to 300°F/150°C, and bake for 50 minutes, until the filling is firm.