FOOD FRIDAY - HALLOWEEN PUMPKIN PIE

“In our town, Halloween was terrifying and thrilling, and there was a whiff of homicide. We'd travel by foot in the dark for miles, collecting candy, watching out for adults who seemed too eager to give us treats.” - Rosecrans Baldwin

Happy Halloween!

Halloween or Hallowe’en (a contraction of “All Hallows’ Evening”), also known as All Hallows’ Eve, or All Saints’ Eve, is a yearly celebration observed in a number of countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Hallows’ Day. It initiates the three-day feast of Allhallowtide, the time in the liturgical year dedicated to remembering the dead, including saints (hallows), martyrs, and all the faithful departed believers. Within Allhallowtide, the traditional focus of All Hallows’ Eve revolves around the theme of using “humour and ridicule to confront the power of death.”

Here is a recipe to help you celebrate this feast, using the traditional Autumnal fare of the Americas, pumpkin! Pumpkin pie is a rich, spicy sweet dessert traditionally eaten in the holidays of Autumn and Winter.

Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients
250 grams shortcrust pastry (make first, see below)
450 grams pumpkin (flesh, diced)
125 grams sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground mace
½ teaspoon ground cloves
4 eggs, beaten
150 ml single cream

Method
Pre-heat oven to 190ºC.
Roll out pastry and line a deep, 20 cm flan dish. Prick the base, cover with baking paper loosely and bake blind for 10 mins.
Bring a large pan of water to the boil, add the pumpkin and cook until tender. Drain well, then liquidise to a purée.
Put the purée into a bowl, add the remaining ingredients and mix well.
Pour the mixture into the pastry case and cook for ≈45 mins until set.
You may dust the top of the pie with cinnamon using a jack-o-lantern stencil.
Serve with ice cream, cream or custard.

Shortcrust Pastry
Ingredients
250 g plain flour
Pinch of salt
225 g cold unsalted butter
160 mL cold water

Method
Place flour and salt in food processor and pulse to combine.
Chop cold butter (not too fine, just into several pieces) and add to flour mixture. Pulse until mixture is coarse and lumpy
Add water and pulse
Wrap in cling film and chill at least 30 minutes or up to 2 days.

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