Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups of sieved pumpkin

Wash a small grey skinned or butternut pumpkin. Halve and scoop stringy bits and seeds out. Save a few seeds for the garden, just let them dry on a paper towel and keep in a paper envelope. Place pumpkin halves on a baking tray flesh side down and add a cup of water. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180c for about 90 minutes until the flesh is tender.

Let it cool then scoop out flesh and process in a blender or food processor until smooth.

• 1 cup of brown sugar

• 200 mls of cream

• 1 teaspoon ground ginger

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

• ½ tsp nutmeg

• 1tbsp maple syrup (optional)

• 1/4 tsp salt

• 3 eggs  plus 1 for glaze

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 220C
2. Mix eggs, spices, sugar and pumpkin in a large bowl until smooth and creamy.
3. Roll sweet crust pastry and place in a 23cm pie baking dish. Trim dough evenly around the edge leaving a small overhang and pinch edges.
4. Beat remaining egg with 1 tbsp of cream and glaze edges of pie.
5. Pour pie mix into the pastry and bake at 220c for 10 mins and then a further 25-30 mins at 180c or until filling is firm but with a bit of wobble.
6. Remove and cool on a wire rack.

Serve cool or warm with lashings of cream or crème fraiche and a drizzle of maple syrup.