Pumpkin Pie from Scratch

Accompanying recipes: Pumpkin Pie and Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

It’s pumpkin pie season and let’s face the facts. No commercial pie can surpass the comfort of homemade pie.

What are the advantages of a homemade pie besides satisfaction? By using quality ingredients you’ll gain optimum flavor. Unlike canned pumpkin, fresh pumpkin tastes more vital, so you can use less sugar for a satisfying rather than cloying sweet taste. For additional flavor depth and nutrition, use organic sugar, butter and pastry flour.

For a real treat, start with a small sugar pumpkin available from your greengrocer. Bred for their extra-sweet flavor and silky texture, sugar pumpkins are ideal for pie. While you can turn any pumpkin into a pie, remember that a large pumpkin is often small in flavor.

According to Oriental medicine, pumpkin specifically helps regulate blood sugar and the digestive function. (But combine any healing food with refined ingredients, and it will challenge the digestive system.)

You can make an excellent savory pie from one of the fleshier winter squash varieties such as butternut, buttercup, red kiri (as illustrated) or kabocha. However, these types of squash have a meatier texture and a more robust, vegetable flavor. Whereas, pumpkin is lighter in texture and flavor than is winter squash which makes it unsurpassed in a desert pie.

Lastly, pumpkin pie from scratch enables you to enjoy a homey treat—roasted pumpkin seeds. This great-tasting snack is a superior source of omega-3 fatty acids and an excellent source of iron, zinc, phosphorus and vitamin A.

May you be well nourished,

Rebecca Wood