2 Suitcases: Recipe: Best (and All From Scratch) Pumpkin Pie

What are you talking about Duarte? Pumpkin pie? It's summer! Yeah, well, it is for you Northern Hemisphere folks, but down here in the Southern Hemisphere the days are cool, we're all wearing scarves and I have serious pumpkin pie cravings. So you know, print this one up and pull it out come November. :o)

Pumpkin pie seems to be something people are really curious about here in South Africa. If we get on the subject of food, the question often comes up, "What is this pumpkin pie we've heard so much about?"

So, if I was gonna represent this American classic, I was gonna do it right. I've made this recipe three times now, each time it was requested by curious South Africans. And each time they were very pleasantly surprised. I think they expected it to taste like a side dish or something.

The pictures below are mostly from Thanksgiving and detail the (I admit) somewhat laborious process. But here's the deal, there is NO canned pumpkin in South Africa. None. But they do sell ready-peeled, cubed pumpkin, (they eat stewed pumpkin very often here as a side dish.) And as it turns out it is much, MUCH better. Seriously, I'm never going back to canned pumpkin. It's more than worth the little extra effort. And if you can't find fresh pumpkin, use Butternut Squash. I've used it 2 of the 3 times and both Aaron and I can't taste the difference. Pumpkin or squash, whatever you use, it's still the best dang pumpkin pie I've ever tasted.

The Mother-of-All Pumpkin Pies
Makes 2 pies

Crust: (Slightly adapted from Aaron's mom's recipe)

2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter -- not margarine (it's the wrong texture). You could use shortening, but I prefer the taste and texture of real, whole butter.
1 beaten egg
1/4 cup cold water
1 1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon vinegar

Filling: (Tweaked from this original recipe)

1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves -- if you can, use fresh ground. I use a mortar and pestle and it's SO much better than pre-ground
1 teaspoon ground allspice -- again, I ground this fresh in a mortar and pestle
1/4 of a nutmeg (freshly ground)
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs (to reduce fat/cholesterol, you can use 8 egg whites instead)
3 cups pumpkin or butternut squash, cooked (See below)
1 1/2 cans (12oz each) of evaporated milk (Low fat is fine)

Method:

Begin with the crust:
Mix together the flour, baking powder and salt. Cut/Rub in the butter (with fork, pastry cutter or your fingers) until it resembles crumbs with some pea-sized lumps.

In a separate bowl combine the egg, sugar and vinegar. Add to flour/butter mixture and stir with a fork. Slowly add water (up to 1/4 cup water) and mix until dough comes away from the sides of a bowl and holds together in a little ball. You may not have to use all 1/4 cup water.

Wrap in plastic wrap and put it in the fridge while you make the filling.

Now, the filling. First you need your pumpkin/squash mush. If I use butternut squash, I get a whole one (you'll need one at least 1kg or 2.2 lbs), stab it a couple of times with a sharp knife, wrap it in tin foil and stick it in the oven at 180C/350F for at least an hour. You to cook it until it's super soft all the way through. Once done, cut it in half, let it cool a bit, scoop out the seeds and scoop out all the delicious, soft squash mush. I tend to do this the night before.

You can also roast pumpkin or butternut squash pieces, but I would cover them so they don't caramelize too much and/or burn. You can also do it the fast way and steam them in the microwave. But honestly, my favorite method is the roast-it-whole way. It caramelizes the squash just enough to give it a real depth of flavor, draws out some of the moisture (so you don't end up with a watery pie) and what could be easier than sticking something in the oven and forgetting about it?

So once you've got your 3 cups of pumpkin/squash mush, add all the other filling ingredients. Blend everything together in a blender or with an immersion blender.

Now, flour your counter well. Separate your dough into 2 pieces and roll out 2 pie crusts. This crust is delicate, yes, but it's worth it -- the more delicate, the more flaky! If there are gaps/rips in your crust you can always fix it with your pieces and/or with additional pieces.

Line your pie tins (mind you, there are none in SA! I've been using cake pans!) with your dough, and then add your filling. It should be just perfect for 2 pies.