Paleo Pumpkin Pie is a household favorite.
If you’ve never had pumpkin pie made with fresh pumpkins, you haven’t lived. In our household, pumpkin pie is a seasonal food enjoyed at the beginning of fall. How long we have pumpkin pie depends on the pumpkin harvest and how well the pumpkins keep. Every year is different. Here’s a family favorite.
Crust
1/2c organic sunflower seeds
1/2c organic walnuts
1/4c organic butter, small cubes
large pinch of sea salt
Firmly press the crust into a buttered pie dish. I like using a ceramic dish that can be used for serving at the table.
Filling
3-4c fresh pumpkin, cooked until soft
1/3c-1/2c local honey, adjust for sweetness of pumpkin
1tsp organic cinnamon, ground
1tsp organic ginger, fresh ground
1/2tsp allspice, freshly ground
large pinch of sea salt
3 pastured whole eggs
1c organic cream cheese or 1/2c organic whipping cream
Quarter the pumpkin and clean out the seeds. (Keep the pumpkin seeds for planting or roasting.) Put the pumpkin pieces into a large pot. Add about an inch of water to the bottom of the pot, cover and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 30-40 minutes until the pumpkin is very soft. When the pumpkin has cooled, peel the pumpkin and refrigerate until ready to use.
Preheat the oven to 325?F and butter a glass or ceramic pie dish. In a food processor, grind the sunflower seeds, walnuts, butter cubes and salt. Don’t over grind but leave some texture. Put the crust into the bottom of the pie dish and press down firmly. Cook the crust for about 5-10 minutes until the crust feels hot to the touch. DO NOT overcook or the nuts will take on a burnt flavor. It’s better to under cook, if in doubt.
In a food processor, make the filling by first pureeing the cooked pumpkin very well. Add the honey, spices, salt, eggs and cream cheese and blend until very smooth. While the crust is in the oven, let the filling come to room temperature. When the crust is hot, take the pie dish out of the oven and fill the pie dish with the filling. Cook for 30 minutes until the center is barely cooked. Again, don’t overcook the filling.
Add the room temperature filling to the pie dish. Cook the filling until just done. Don’t over cook.
HOUSEHOLD TIP: Tired of having your ginger dry and shrivel up when you need it most? Store your fresh organic ginger in the freezer. When you need to freshly grate some ginger, pull out a piece and grate it, skin and all.
