Pumpkin pie ... Just one of the things to look forward to each year for Thanksgiving for 24 years of my life! Along with sweet potato pie and my sister-in-law's wonderful squash casserole. Yummy! But guess what. My husband HATES any of these things. It's decidedly un-American. So... this year I have devised my very own recipe for a pumpkin pie. It's more tart than pie, so I'm calling it a pumpkin tart. Listen. You don't have to try it. But I challenge you to. The test-kitchen for this recipe happened to be at my mother's house. My mother who also doesn't like pumpkin pie. I'll tell you what was left of this 4-person pie after it came out of the oven... 1 wedge. One. Which is how I know it's as delicious to eat hot or cold. I can't wait to serve it my pumpkin tart to my husband, who looked at the picture and swore he'd try it. I'll let you know how it goes...

For  4 - 6 people

• Butter
• Pâte brisée - 1 pie crust
• Pumpkin or preferably BUTTERNUT pumpkin because it has more flavor (freeze what you don't need or make soup with it. You'll need three cups or so.
• 1/3 tsp dried thyme
• 1/3 tsp garlic powder
• 2 TBSP of butter
• 1.5 TBSP of flour (regular)
• 100ml chicken broth
• 200ml cream (you can add the chicken broth and cream together to be prepared)
  • IN CUPS: chicken broth plus cream together = 300ml which equals to 1 + 1/4th cup of which 1/3 is chicken broth and 2/3 is cream 100ML = 0.42 CUPS, so just under 1/2 cup)
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 egg beaten for egg wash
• 2 + 1 TBSP grated cheese of your choice like Comte, Emmental, or Gruyère, Gouda- measured out separately. I always use Gruyère as I don't want the cheese taste to overpower the star of the show. It's veg pie, not quiche.
• Pepper and salt to taste
• OPTIONAL:
  • 1/4 tsp of cinnamon
  • dash of nutmeg

Pumpkin Filling

• Use two generous hands-full of butternut cut into chunks = 3 cups or so
• Heat butter, add the pumpkin,
• Season with salt and pepper
  • cinnamon and nutmeg if you'd like to use it. Just how much is hard to say - it's really personal taste. I only use a dash of both
• When pumpkin is tender, remove from heat and mash to a pulp with a potato masher - set aside to cool
• In this instance I sautéed 6 triangles separately as a garnish, to tender and golden - set aside

Sauce

• Heat butter
• Add flour
• Stir it around briefly without letting it turn golden, until it smells vaguely like cookies
• Add cream/ broth mixture and stir well
• Simmer the sauce until it thickens
• Quickly stir in egg yolk, stir it well until they are completely incorporated into the sauce. This will help thicken the sauce further.
• Season with pepper and taste for salt
• Remove sauce from heat source
• Stir in two tablespoons of cheese
• Set aside to cool

Dough

• Prepare the pie form, smear it well with butter on a paper towel
• Drape the dough snugly into the form
• No need to crimp the edges, just leave it
• From the extra dough, you can make some decorations for garnish e.g. circles and half-moons and stars. Whatever you wish.
• Prick the though with the tines of a fork (see picture)
• Preheat oven to 220c (420F)

Assembling the tart

• Take 3 generous TBSP of the sauce and mix through the pumpkin
  • taste for seasoning and add to taste - the depth of spices and herbs is up to you.
• Spread butternut evenly across the bottom of the pie - probably to 1 cm thickness or so. (that's 1/2 inch)
• Spoon the sauce across the pumpkin filling
  • don't do this all at once as it may be too much
  • You should slightly see the orange of the pumpkin beneath the sauce
• Use the back of a spoon to make a pattern into the pie and gently push down so that you can see more of the pumpkin peeking through
  • as you can see I made a spiral but you can do any pattern you like, it's your kitchen! 
• Fold the sides of the dough down to form a ring
• Arrange garnish on the tart as you wish
• Brush the dough and any dough-garnish pieces with egg-wash so they'll brown to a shine as the tart bakes in the oven
• Bake at 220c for 20 to 30 minutes or until the sauce is slightly browned and the bottom of the crust is well done.
  • after 20 minutes you should probably monitor
  • you should be able to lift the pie our of the form more sturdily than a pizza, without breaking.

Serving suggestions

• By itself warm or cold
• With buttery mashed potatoes and turkey or chicken, and cranberry sauce
• Or with a salad

Enjoy!
Bren