Pumpkin Pie – azaz a sütőtökös pite

A sütőtök – a kukoricához, a burgonyához és még sok hasznos növényhez hasonlóan – Amerika felfedezése után került földrészünkre, őshazája Közép- és Dél-Amerika trópusi vidéke. Hazánkban leginkább sütőben, vagy kemencében sütve fogyasztják ezt a finomságot, azonban nagyon finom süteménynek, különböző édességeknek elkészítve is. AZ USA egyik legnépszerűbb édessége is a sütőtökös pite, amely a Thanksgiving vacsorák hagyományos desszertje is lett. Ha nem is vagy annyira oda a sütőtökért, még akkor is érdemes megkóstolnod sütemény formájában, mert isteni finom.

Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Oven Temperature: 180° c  –  360° f

Step 1:  You’ll need

• 850 g pumpkin, chopped
• 350 ml cream
• 190 g brown sugar
• Half tsp salt
• 3 eggs and 1 egg yolk
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• quarter tsp nutmeg
• quarter tsp allspice
• the zest of 1 lemon
• 1 short-crust pastry base , ready made
• 1 roasting tin
• 1 spoon
• 1 fork
• 1 pie mold
• 1 jug
• 1 hand blender
• aluminium foil
• parchment paper
• about 500g of beans to weigh down the crust

Step 2: Preheat the oven

Set the temperature to 180ºC or gas mark 4.

Step 3: Roast the pumpkin

Tip the chopped pumpkin into the roasting tin and cover it tightly with aluminium foil. Put the tin on a low shelf in the oven and bake for about 30 minutes (this is the first stage of creating the pumpkin puree).

Step 4: Prepare the pastry base

Gently lay the pastry crust on the pie mold and carefully press it down to form the shape of the pie. Remove any excess pastry from the edges. Now using a fork, lightly jab the bottom of the base various times. This will prevent the pastry from rising.

Put the parchment paper over the top of the pastry and pour the beans on top to weigh it down.

Step 5: Bake the pastry

Place the pie mold in the oven with the pumpkin and bake for 20 minutes.

Step 6: Remove from the oven

When the pastry crust is golden brown, take it out of the oven. Test the pumpkin to see if it’s done by piercing it with a fork. It needs to be completely soft to make the puree. Remove it from the oven and discard the foil. Take the beans off the pastry and leave it and the pumpkin to cool.

Finally, raise the temperature of the oven to 210 degrees centigrade or gas mark 6.

Step 7: Make the pumpkin puree

Spoon the cooked pumpkin into the jug and using the hand blender, blend into a puree.

Step 8: Prepare the pie filling

In a large bowl mix the brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, lemon zest and salt. Now, whisk the eggs, add them to the other ingredients and stir. Pour in the pumpkin puree and cream and stir well.

Step 9: Bake

Pour the filling into the pastry crust, almost to the top. Carefully place it into the centre of the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Lower the temperature to 160ºC and bake for a further 35 minutes.

Step 10: Remove from the oven

When the pie is fully cooked remove it from the oven and allow it to cool and set.

Step 11: Serve

The pie can be eaten warm or cold and served dusted with icing sugar and with a dollop of whipped cream.