Pumpkin pie

As soon as pumpkins begin to appear at the grocer’s and in the supermarket, you know that autumn has arrived. The great thing about pumpkins is that they work just as well in a savoury stew as in a sweet pie. They’re such fantastic, versatile vegetables, I love them!

Ingredients for the pastry:

– 100 g granulated sugar
– 250 g flour
– 1 egg
– 150 g butter
– pinch of salt

Ingredients for the filling:

– 1 pumpkin
– 150 g granulated sugar
– 250 ml double cream
– 150 ml milk
– 2 eggs
– 1 tbsp mixed spice

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Add all the ingredients for the cake to a bowl and knead to form a firm dough. Wrap this in cling film and chill in the fridge for an hour. Remove the dough from the fridge and roll it out on a worktop sprinkled with flour. Line the greased tart case with the dough. Trim the excess dough from the edges. Cover the dough with baking paper and fill with blind baking beans.  Bake the pastry case for 20 minutes at 180°C. Remove the blind baking beans and return the pastry case to the oven for a further ten minutes.

In the meantime, make the pie filling. Peel the pumpkin and remove the seeds. Cut the pumpkin into cubes. Put the pumpkin cubes in a pan and pour in enough water to cover them all completely. Add a pinch of salt. Bring the water to the boil and cook the pumpkin for around five minutes until soft. Drain the pumpkin pieces and use a hand blender to puree them until smooth.

Mix the pumpkin puree with the sugar, double cream, milk, eggs and spices until fully combined. Once the pastry case is baked, you can fill it. Pour the pumpkin mix into the pastry case, stopping just below the top. Bake the pie at 160°C for around 45 minutes. Serve the tart with a good dollop of whipped cream.