Creating a double masterpiece from the pumpkin and guts.
It's the season of pumpkin carving! There have been some fabulous designs appearing at front doors and each year the stakes get higher.
But during this harvest time, there seems to be a very small percentage of 'carvers' who actually make use of the pumpkin 'guts'. The pumpkin has a lot to offer and you can make numerous edible treats from pumpkin puree to pies, to even smoothies and houmous, and of course pumpkin seeds are great to add to salads or to snack on. As the weather is turning colder, we thought a hearty pumpkin pie was the way to go and below we have found a great recipe (created by Randy Scott) for you to try.
Prep: 30min | Cook: 1hr 10min | Ready in: 1hr 40min | Serves 16
Ingredients | For the filling
500g (1 1/4 lb) pumpkin, cooked and pureed
1 (410g) tin evaporated milk
2 eggs, beaten
175g (6 oz) dark brown soft sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
Ingredients | For the pastry
350g (12 oz) plain flour
1 teaspoon salt
200g (7 oz) butter
125ml (4 fl oz) cold water
Method
1. Preheat oven to 200 C / Gas mark 6.
2. Halve pumpkin and scoop out seeds and stringy portions. Cut pumpkin into chunks. In a saucepan over medium heat, cover the pumpkin with water and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until tender. Drain, cool and remove the peel.
3. Return pumpkin to the saucepan and mash with a potato masher. Drain well, and measure 500g of the mashed pumpkin; reserve any excess pumpkin for another use.
4. Prepare pastry by mixing together the flour and salt. Rub butter into flour, and add 1 tablespoon cold water to mixture at a time. Mix and repeat until pastry is moist enough to hold together.
5. With lightly floured hands, shape pastry into a ball. On a lightly floured board, roll pastry out to barely a .25cm thickness. Transfer to a 20 or 23cm pie dish, gently pressing pastry into the bottom. Cut off any excess pastry hanging over the sides of the dish, and pinch pastry securely around the inner edge.
6. In a large bowl with mixer speed on medium, beat pumpkin with evaporated milk, eggs, sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt. Mix well. Pour into a prepared pie dish. Bake 40 minutes or until a knife inserted in the centre comes out clean.
7. Decorate how you like and top with extra brown sugar and cinnamon. Enjoy!
