I had always been intigued by the humble Pumpkin Pie; a very American-Halloween-thing in my opinion. But something still seemed strange about pumpkin in a pie! And for it to be SWEET? I just didn't get it. Until I tried it.
Whilst living in Italy I spent time with an American guy who religiously made his mothers pumpkin pie recipe every year at Halloween. And so Italy was where I had my first taste (of all places; but it was made by a true blue American). My first taste was immediatley followed by a second, a third, I finished the piece, went back for anoter, and no doubt had more slices the day after. OMG. This recipe is taken from an American one I had in my recipe book The Art of Raw Living Food (Doreen Virtue and Jenny Ross), with a few tweaks of my own.
2 cups soaked almonds (or any nut - pecans would be delish)
1/4 cup agave syrup
1/4 cup chopped medjool dates
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp vanilla
Throw the almonds in a food processor and blend until a dogh ball forms.
Scoop it all out and dump it into your pie dish (MINIMUM 20cm diameter). I pre-oiled mine with coconut oil to ensure easy removal when slicing :)
Spread your 'dough' with the palm of your hand to fill the dish and work the mixture up the sides as well. Use your fingertips to help with this until you have an even looking pie base.
I chose the freezer option to see how it would work, and personally wasn't too big a fan. It was still delicious but make cutting and serving alot trickier.
4 cups of pumpkin (i pre-shredded mine so my food processor wouldn't hate me throwing big chunks in)
1 tbsp mixed spice
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp sea salt
1 tbsp vanilla
4 tbsp cold pressed extra virgin olive oil
3 tbsp ground chia seeds (the recipe uses psyllium husks which I didn't want to use and so I tried grinding chia seeds instead. They have no taste and these thickened the mixture as the psyllium would have done also)
Be sure to taste your mixture. MOST IMPORTANT! This is where I always make adjustments. You might want it sweeter or spicier, saltier. You might hate it and really need to change a few things! Taste every recipe you make!
Spoon your filling into your pie base and spread it all over evenly - or real messy and lumpy if you prefer ;) making sure you fill every little bit!
Pop your finished pie into the freezer and don't be tempted for at least 4 hours to let it set (I know, shocking, my apologies)
But then... when it's ready to be devoured, serve with fresh berries, or sprinkle with pepita seeds. I chose to serve mine with a caramel sauce and a vanilla sauce.
Caramel sauce - agave syrup mixed with small amounts of lucuma, maca, mesquite, different spices (sorry I didnt really measure)
Vanilla sauce - ground macadamia nuts blended with vanilla, a little agave, dash of salt and coconut water (again, nothing measured)
Now I'm off to ENJOY THE SUNSHINE and prepare my raw lasagna for Mothers Day dinner :) More on that next time...
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