Pumpkin Pie

An american gem, the pumpkin pie is by far my favourite american pudding. This was my first attempt to make it myself and I think it went rather well, apart from a little burn on the top due to a bad oven, it was devoured by the Sunday lunch team!

Ingredients

750g of pumpkin cut into chunks

350g sweet shortcrust pastry

plain flour for dusting

140g white sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp cinnamon

2 eggs, beaten

25g melted butter

175ml milk

1tbsp icing sugar

Instructions

• Place the pumpkin in a large saucepan, cover with water and bring to the boil. Cover with a lid and simmer for 15 mins or until tender. Drain pumpkin; let cool.
• Heat oven to 160C fan - roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface and use it to line a 22cm loose-bottomed tart tin. Chill for 15 mins. Line the pastry with baking parchment and baking beans, then bake for 15 mins. Remove the beans and paper, and cook for a further 10 mins until the base is pale golden and biscuity. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly.
• Increase oven to 200C fan. Push the cooled pumpkin through a sieve into a large bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the sugar, salt, nutmeg and half the cinnamon. Mix in the beaten eggs, melted butter and milk, then add to the pumpkin purée and stir to combine. Pour into the tart shell and cook for 10 mins, then reduce the temperature to 160C fan. Continue to bake for 35-40 mins until the filling has just set.
• Leave to cool, then remove the pie from the tin. Mix the remaining cinnamon with the icing sugar and dust over the pie. Serve chilled with whipped cream.

Recipe from Good Food magazine, November 2011