It’s another pumpkin recipe this week, but while last week’s was a savoury offering, this week’s is all about sweetness and the kitsch factor! I love collecting old recipes and one of my absolute favourite cookbooks is one I robbed from my aunt, a compilation of recipes from the backs of American packets and tins. Half the book is made up of recipes that would make the Masterchef inside you cry a little, but hidden amongst them are true gems which are not to be sniffed at.
This week’s retro recipe, a Ginger and Cinnamon Spiced Pumpkin Pie, is a tip of the hat to our American cousins who know how to turn any highly nutritious vegetable into a tooth-ache inducing dessert! The recipe calls for pumpkin purée, which can be tricky to find but I know it’s available in the Quay Co-Op, 24 Sullivan’s Quay in Cork and Fallon and Byrne in Dublin.
I’ve tried making pumpkin purée myself and it’s easily done but it’s important to get good quality small bright orange pumpkins, roughly 3/4 the size of a football. Don’t use the ones they sell in the supermarket for carving as these will result in a pale purée lacking in both colour and flavour. To make your own purée, cut the pumpkin in quarters, remove the seeds and bake in a roasting tin at 160˚C for about 45 minutes until soft. Scrape out the flesh and place in a food processor, blitzing until smooth. Squeeze the pumpkin in a dry tea towel to remove any excess liquid. After all that you should be left with a really good pumpkin purée which can be used in all sorts of recipes, including this one!
Continue to the recipe for Ginger and Cinnamon Spiced Pumpkin Pie…
