Friday 4 March 2011

Savoury Pumpkin Pie

Another crafty use of pumpkin! Still munching our way through the Crown Prince: this recipe used about half of the 4kg monster. Once again, delicious sweet flesh with body and flavour: it really works well here as it's meltingly soft against the crisp buttery pastry. The only sad thing about this pumpkin is that the seeds are so enormous, they don't roast well in the oven to give a good snack.

Anyway, this recipe works well for six people as the carbohydrate portion of a main meal, or as lunch on its own. It would be brilliant to make a few as part of a large buffet. In my opinion it should always be served warm. It keeps well, but the pastry may become soggy if reheated in the microwave, so be prepared to use the oven if you want to recover the freshly-cooked crispness. Also bear in mind this takes 1.5-2 hours from start to finish, as there is a lot of cooking time.

Ingredients:

  • 1.3-1.5kg of peeled and deseeded pumpkin (budget 1.8-2kg of raw pumpkin)
  • vegetable oil
  • cinnamon
  • 375g puff pastry
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten, for brushing
Preheat the oven to 200 C. Cut the pumpkin into small cubes and steam for 15 minutes, until tender. Tip the pieces into a roasting tin, add a generous pinch of cinnamon and a few tbsp of vegetable oil, season well and toss to coat. Roast for 45 minutes without turning: the edges will crisp and go lightly golden. When cooked, crush the pumpkin into a coarse mash.

Cut the pastry in half, and roll each piece out to fit a baking sheet. Place a sheet of greaseproof paper on the tray, then a layer of pastry, and spread out the filling over the top. Brush the edges of the pastry with the beaten egg, lay the other layer over the top and crimp the edges together. Using a sharp knife, make two or three slits on the top, so that the steam can escape as the pie cooks. Brush the pastry over with the remainder of the egg and bake for 25 minutes. Nigel Slater's original recipe calls for you to wait for 5-10 minutes for the pie to settle before cutting, but you will find that very difficult :)

No comments:

Post a Comment