(Real) Pumpkin Pie

They say that once you’ve had pumpkin pie made with real pumpkin, that you’ll never go back to the canned stuff again. That’s probably true, but for OntheFly, I’ll say that once you’ve made a pumpkin pie with real pumpkin, you’ll see that it’s too easy to go back to the canned stuff.

Trust me. I wouldn’t put it up here if it wasn’t super easy.

What you need is a pie pumpkin. A “proper” pie pumpkin looks just like a jack-‘o-lantern pumpkin, but half the size (about 6″ in diameter, see right). They’re very common in the States this time of year, but if you’re like me and you can’t find them, you can use pretty much any kind of pumpkin or squash. I made mine with a sort-of golden nugget squash and it was lovely. Just know that a 6″ pumpkin will actually make more puree than you need. My little 4″ one was just about perfect. But anyway, at Thanksgiving, I’m sure you can find some uses for the extra puree.

[Prep: 15min / Cook: 1hr+]

Ingredients

– 1 pie pumpkin
– 1 14oz can sweetened condensed milk
– 2 eggs
– 1″ knob of fresh ginger, peeled & roughly chopped
– 1 tsp cinnamon
– 1/2 tsp nutmeg
– 1/2 tsp salt
– an unbaked pie crust

1. Carefully cut the pumpkin in half. Scoop out the seeds and pumpkin gunk with a spoon.
2. Cut the pumpkin halves in half again.
3. Cook the pumpkin until soft by either:
   1. steaming for about 20-30min
   2. microwave for about 15-20min
   3. bake in the oven at 350F/175C for about 45-90min
4. Scoop the soft pumpkin flesh from the cooked shell and measure about 2 cups worth into the bowl of a blender or food processor.
5. Mix in the remaining ingredients and blend until smooth. Pour mixture into pie crust.
6. Bake at 425F/220C for about 15min. Reduce heat to 350F/175C and bake another 35-40min until a knife or toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
7. Ready to eat!

photo: elana’s pantry