Just using this recipe to remind everyone that; though pumpkin carving is a fun way to use a pumpkin, why waste all that flesh when you can make something this tasty!!! A crunchy, spicy and fragrant pumpkin pie without the use of any refined sugars!
Serves 10
Takes 65 minutes (20 prep, 45 cook, 20 cool)
For the crust:
1 cup (170g) of dates
1/2 cup of brown flour
1/2 cup of oats
1/2 cup of milled flaxseed
1/4 cup of vegetable oil
1/4 cup of water
1 tsp of salt
1 tsp of ground nutmeg
For the filling:
1 medium pumpkin
1 tsp of salt
1 tbsp of olive oil
1 cup (170g) of dates
200g of silken tofu
1 tsp of chopped ginger
1 tsp of ground cinnamon
3 tbsp of chia seeds
Preheat the oven 220C.
Halve the pumpkin and remove the seeds, placing them in a sieve and rinsing them under running water to remove the pith. Lay them out on a baking tray ready to toast.
Cube the pumpkin into pieces no larger than 1.5cm and lay them out on a baking tray so they have enough space to all fit comfortably. Mix in 1 teaspoon of salt and the olive oil and cover the pumpkin in it.
Bake the pumpkin seeds on the top shelf of the oven, and the cubed pumpkin on the middle shelf of the oven, both for 15 minutes.
Chop up the dates for the crust and pulse blend them in a high powered blender with the flour, oats and milled flaxseed until roughly combined. Be careful to only pulse blend as dates are very resistant and can easily break a blender.
Add the vegetable oil, water, remaining salt and ground nutmeg and blend until well combined.
When the pumpkin seeds and cubed pumpkin have toasted, remove both from the oven. Allow the cubed pumpkin to cool while blending the pumpkin seeds in with the rest of the crust ingredients until they are well combined.
Oil a 22cm circular loose bottom or springform cake tin lightly and kneed the dough into the edges and up the sides, reaching the lip of the pan, then dock it (use a fork to make holes in the bottom).
Bake the crust on the middle shelf of the oven for 10 minutes until it is nicely browned.
As the crust bakes, repeat the same process for the dates as with the crust, then combine them with all the remaining pumpkin ingredients apart from the chia seeds, until it forms a smooth paste.
In a spice blender, grind the chia seeds into a fine powder.
Remove the crust from the oven and allow to cool for a minute or two.
Turn the oven down to 180C.
In a mixing bowl, combine the pumpkin filling with the chia seeds until they are fully mixed. Decant the mix into the crust and flatten out the top.
Bake the pumpkin pie for 20 minutes, checking after 15 to see that it isn’t burning.
Remove the pie from the oven and allow it to cool on a cooling rack for 10 minutes before running a knife around the edge of the pie and removing it from it’s tin. Leave it to stand for a further 10 minutes before eating, or leave it longer for the filling to set further as it cools.
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