First Pumpkin Pie of the Season
Shopping for food on Friday, I spotted the season’s first organic sugar pumpkins, and I couldn’t resist. Everyone in my family loves pumpkin pie (I often use butternut squash, which I think is even better!), and it’s a snap to make once the pumpkin or squash, as the case may be, is baked.
Okay, here’s a secret. It may not be the politically correct thing to do, but I like to microwave small squashes and pumpkins. I just pop the whole thing into a small pyrex-type container; an acorn or delicata squash takes about 5 minutes; a bit more for a small butternut. Sugar pumpkin, which is usually a little bigger and plumper, takes from 10 to 14 minutes, depending on the size. This just seems more efficient than running a 375 degree oven for 45 or more minutes.
Once the pumpkin or squash is done, I leave it out to cool, then cut it in half, remove the seeds, and peel. And once that’s out of the way, the rest is just tossing everything else into the food processor, pouring into a shell, and baking. I’m so lazy that I don’t even make pie crust. I love using natural graham cracker crust for pumpkin pies. It’s less heavy and caloric than pastry crust. For this, I used a chocolate crust from the brand “Wholly Wholesome,” though I’ve seen other brands at the natural foods store (caution, I think supermarket brands might still contain trans fats, but I’m not sure). I love the synergy of chocolate and pumpkin, good in a pie, and even better in pumpkin chocolate chip muffins, which are next on my list to make.
Here’s the recipe, from The Vegetarian Family Cookbook:
Not-Just-for-Thanksgiving Squash or Pumpkin Pie
Make: One 9-inch pie, 6 servings
I find that the smooth, sweet butternut puree tastes just as good as sugar pumpkin—perhaps even better! Once you’ve got the squash or pumpkin baked, which I do ahead of time, making this nourishing pie is a snap. It contains no eggs or dairy, but no one will notice the difference.
- 2 cups well-baked and mashed butternut squash or sugar pumpkin
- 3/4 cup silken tofu (about half of a 12.3-ounce aseptic package)
- 1/2 cup natural granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (or 1/4 teaspoon each ground nutmeg and ginger)
- One 9-inch good quality graham cracker or whole grain pie crust
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Combine the pumpkin or squash pulp in a food processor with the remaining ingredients (except the crust, of course). Process until velvety smooth.
Pour the mixture into the crust. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the mixture is set and the crust is golden. Let the pie cool to room temperature. cut into 6 or 8 wedges to serve.
Teddy said,
September 24, 2006 @ 8:56 pm
haha Microwaving squashes is my ‘dirty secret’ too! It’s just too fast to be a bad thing
Teddy
Geraldine said,
September 25, 2006 @ 12:40 pm
I am not much of a dessert fan anytime but Pumpkin Pie, there’s where I make an exception LOL….. Have never tried one before with a graham crust, interesting variation. Thanks Nava.
Danielle D. said,
September 25, 2006 @ 1:19 pm
Has anyone ever made a pumpkin pie without a crust - maybe like a pumpkin pudding?
Heather said,
September 26, 2006 @ 7:53 pm
I made one of these today and it was SOOOOOOOOOO good.
Thanks
Susan G said,
September 26, 2006 @ 9:54 pm
Back in early marriage, before I had to cook for 6, I would cut the recipe in half and make the filling in custard cups, baking them in a toaster oven. Good for portion control! Just grease the cups. You could even use muffin pans and paper inserts. As for crust, we raided the pantry recently and made a crumb crust out of little Annie’s bunny cookies (with a lime filling, amazing!). And just made pumpkin butter out of our 1st of the season CSA pumpkin. (And just made a wonderful sweet potato soup from the Soup book, thanks, Nava. Perfect as we approach frost in NH.), Season change is inspiring.
vicki said,
September 27, 2006 @ 10:19 pm
this pie looks so good! i love graham cracker crust and don’t think i’ve had it w/pumpkin pie before. i must try it.
nava, it arrived in the mail today! how exciting, and thank you so much. i’m eyeing a couple recipes that i want to try right away. i’ll let you know…
June B. Cater said,
October 28, 2006 @ 10:16 am
My mother loved ginger. So I started making a ginger snap cfrumb crust. Put the snaps in a blender or food processors and then make like a graham cracker crust without adding sugar. Marvelous!
Sally said,
November 8, 2006 @ 2:17 pm
What is the recipe for pumpkin pie without crust? Can you use Splenda as a substitute?
Nava said,
November 10, 2006 @ 8:00 am
Sally,
You can see a bunch of recipes for pumpkin pie with no crust if you do a google search on “crustless pumpkin pie.” As far as I can tell, you can use any pumpkin pie recipe, and simply omit the crust. I imagine that you would need a good nonstick pie pan. As for Splenda, I am really not familiar with this product so I couldn’t answer that part of the question.