Now that pumpkins are back in season, I'm having a lot of fun experimenting with different squashes. Made pumpkin pie this weekend for the first time. I found a pretty little Sugar Pie Squash on the sidewalk produce shelves at Bi-Rite market. This is one of the best varieties for pie as it has a smooth consistency.
The pie turned out quite delicious. Here's what I did.
Making pumpkin puree from scratch can be time consuming but definitely worth it and very easy. The pumpkin has to be cooked first by either boiling, roasting, steaming, etc. I did not want to heat up the kitchen and decided go for steaming it.
Cut the pumpkin in half and scoop out the seeds and stringy flesh with a spoon. Then cut the pumpkin in 2-3" chunks.
Steam over 1" water in a pot with a steamer insert until the squash is tender when pierced with a fork. Mine took about 25 minutes.
After the pumpkin has cooled, scoop out the flesh from the skin. A spoon worked well to get this done. Puree in a food processor until smooth. Measure out the amount needed.
TIP: Most pumpkin pie recipes call for 2 cups of pumpkin puree. My pumpkin provided about 3 cups, so I refrigerated the leftover cup to make a quick soup for lunch. (Reheat the puree, add some reduced fat milk and seasoning).
Then used it to bake a simple pumpkin pie. For this pie, I took a shortcut and just poured the batter into a frozen pie crust (shhh!). The result was just great!
TIP: Here's another hint: Some chopped candied ginger pieces makes a perfect garnish.
Now that pumpkins are back in season, I'm having a lot of fun experimenting with different squashes. Made pumpkin pie this weekend for the first time. I found a pretty little Sugar Pie Squash on the sidewalk produce shelves at Bi-Rite market. This is one of the best varieties for pie as it has a smooth consistency.
The pie turned out quite delicious. Here's what I did.
Making pumpkin puree from scratch can be time consuming but definitely worth it and very easy. The pumpkin has to be cooked first by either boiling, roasting, steaming, etc. I did not want to heat up the kitchen and decided go for steaming it.
Cut the pumpkin in half and scoop out the seeds and stringy flesh with a spoon. Then cut the pumpkin in 2-3" chunks.
Steam over 1" water in a pot with a steamer insert until the squash is tender when pierced with a fork. Mine took about 25 minutes.
After the pumpkin has cooled, scoop out the flesh from the skin. A spoon worked well to get this done. Puree in a food processor until smooth. Measure out the amount needed.
TIP: Most pumpkin pie recipes call for 2 cups of pumpkin puree. My pumpkin provided about 3 cups, so I refrigerated the leftover cup to make a quick soup for lunch. (Reheat the puree, add some reduced fat milk and seasoning).
Then used it to bake a simple pumpkin pie. For this pie, I took a shortcut and just poured the batter into a frozen pie crust (shhh!). The result was just great!
TIP: Here's another hint: Some chopped candied ginger pieces makes a perfect garnish.
