Pumpkin pie

This is the season for pumpkin pie. Given that we grew three good-sized pumpkins and nearly a dozen large sucrine squash (like butternut), we're looking for ways to use them. I made this pie for our Thanksgiving day with part of the rouge vif d'Etampes (Etampes bright red) pumpkin. We had one of those plants in the garden this year and it produced one pumpkin.

I forgot to take a photo after taking the pie out of the pan. Oh well!

I cut the pumpkin in half, scooped out the seeds, and roasted one of the halves in the oven. Ken's planning to use part of the other half for a tajine dish this weekend with leftover lamb. The recipe I use calls for two cups of the roasted pumpkin. I don't puree it, but rather mash it a little with a fork. I like little bits of pumpkin in the pie. Then I add some sugar, spices (cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, cardamom, ginger), eggs, and cream before pouring the mixture into the blind-baked pie shell. The resulting pie is rich and tastes of pumpkin. I usually reduce the amount of sugar and spices that the recipe calls for so that the taste of the pumpkin is not totally masked. We often just eat it as-is, but it's also good with a dollop of crème fraiche or whipped cream.