Homemade Pumpkin puree, roasted pumpkin seeds and a Yummy pumpkin pie

time for some Pumpkin love the last day of October. 🎃🍁

As you may have noticed I love making food from scratch and I love using local food and even food from the garden if possible.

It’s time for pumpkins and even in Norway we decorate and set the big jack o lanterns outside for Halloween. But very few people actually know what to do with the delicious edible pumpkins. So, I decided I wanted to share a couple of recipes. Yesterday I shared my pumpkin spice recipe and the other day I shared my pumpkin soup recipe. (Norwegian)

Today I’ll share a recipe for homemade pumpkin purée that are a perfect way to preserve the pumpkin and is so useful for lots of autumn recipes.

I’ll share a homemade pumpkin pie recipe too.

If you want to make your own pumpkin purée, you can of course use a large Jack O pumpkin but you can preferably choose a sugar pumpkin, which is smaller, about the size of a volleyball (more or less). You’ll usually see them labeled as cooking, pie, or sugar pumpkins, and they’ll weigh in the 4- to 8-pound range or a butternut squash (flaskegresskar (Norwegian name))

• Now cut the pumpkin in half down the middle.
• Next, scrape out the pumpkin seeds and the pulp using a large spoon. Be sure to scoop away any stringy pulp from the centre. And don’t throw out those seeds. They are very healthy, and you can use them to make delicious roasted pumpkin seeds. (Scroll down for recipe 👇🏻)

• Preheat the oven to 300°F / 150°C
• Line a baking tray/sheet with parchment/baking paper or a non-stick baking mat.
• Place the pumpkin halves, cut side down, on the prepped baking sheet/tray.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour or until tender.
• Start checking the doneness in 5-minute intervals at the 30-minute mark by lightly pressing the pumpkin.
• Once soft, remove the pumpkin from the oven and let cool to the touch.
• Using a spoon, scrape the soft pumpkin meat from the skin.
• Puree in a blender
• Store in clean glass jars with an airtight lid in the fridge or in zip lock bags in the freezer

The pumpkin purée is wonderfully soft and healthy and usable for many dishes. You can even use it as is for baby food due to it’s mild taste it will be suitable for babies 4 months and up.

As I love using what I have on hand I often times use the flesh of the jack o lanterns I carve. I think it’s too bad throwing away all this wonderful food.

So when making the lanterns I carve out as much of the pumpkin flesh as possible. (removing the seeds and strings first) I toss all the pumpkin flesh into a sauce pan add 100 ml water (just to make sure it doesn’t burn) and cook the pumpkin on medium heat until tender. Then I blend it to make pumpkin purée.

And for the seeds you can roast them in the oven to make delicious snacks

Take the scooped-out seeds and any stringy pulp, and place them in a large bowl. Add water. Whisk by hand, until the seeds separate from the pulp. Or use your stand mixer, equipped with the whisk attachment or beater blade, to do the job. It only takes 20 to 30 seconds at medium speed.

The detached seeds will float to the surface of the water, where they’re easily skimmed off. Place them in a strainer to drain.

Scoop the seeds into a bowl, and toss them with olive oil and a bit of salt.

Spread on a lightly greased baking sheet, and roast in a preheated 350°F / 175-200 C oven for 20 – 30 minutes, or until they’re golden brown. Some seeds will be browner than others, so just go for a happy medium. Remove them from the oven and let them cool right on the pan. Enjoy!

And now on to the treat for the sweet tooth.

To be honest I’ve never made a pumpkin pie until now. I’ve been thinking about this for years but as this is no traditional dishes around here I never came to make it. However if you first give it a try I’m sure you’re hooked and will bake it over and over again using your homemade pumpkin purée.

HOW TO MAKE PUMPKIN PIE

Making pumpkin pie is easy. Follow a few simple steps to create a homemade pie worth sharing.

• First, prepare the homemade dough using a few ingredients – flour, sugar, salt, butter and water.
• Next, make the filling with pumpkin, brown sugar, sugar, salt and spices. Heat these ingredients in a pan on the stove. Remove from the heat and whisk in cold cream and vanilla extract, then add the eggs, one at a time, until incorporated. Add cornstarch and whisk.
• Pour the filling into the pie crust. Bake and then place in the refrigerator to cool completely. It’s that easy!

Ingredients

For the Homemade Pie Crust:

• 1 1/2 cups / 3,5 dl all-purpose flour (siktet hvetemel)
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup / 120 gram unsalted butter, chilled cut into 1-inch pieces
• 3 tablespoons ice water

For the Pumpkin Pie Filling:

• 15 oz / 4,5 dl pumpkin puree
• 2/3 cup / 1,5 dl brown sugar
• 1/3 cup / 0,8 dl granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 1/4 cup / 3 dl heavy whipping cream, cold
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 3 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch

Instructions

To make the pie crust:

1. In a food processor, combine flour, sugar, salt and chilled butter pieces. Pulse the mixture just until the butter is processed into pea-sized pieces—about 15 seconds. Do not over-process.
2. One tablespoon at a time, sprinkle ice water through food chute and process just until dough begins to come together (I used exactly 3 tablespoons, but if necessary add more ice water). Small butter pieces should still be visible in dough.
3. Remove dough from bowl and form into a disc about one inch thick. Wrap in plastic wrap and place in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before rolling.
4. Preheat oven to 400° F 200 C . Grease pie pan lightly with butter
5. Sprinkle workspace and rolling pin lightly with flour. Roll dough from center outward into a 13-inch / 32 cm diameter.
6. Transfer the pie dough to pie plate and gently press the dough to the inside of pan and up the sides. Trim dough to about 1 inch beyond edge of pan. Turn edge of pastry under and press with thumb and pointer finger to crimp around the edge forming a pattern.
7. Place a piece of parchment paper on pie dough and fill with dry lentils or beans to prevent the crust from rising . Bake for 15 minutes, then remove the dry lentils/ beans and parchment.

To make the pie:

1. While the crust is baking, prepare the filling. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the pumpkin, brown sugar, sugar, salt and spices. Bring the mixture to a low simmer, cook for 5 minutes.²
2. Remove from the heat and whisk in the cold cream and vanilla extract. Add the eggs one at a time and beat by hand until incorporated—about 1 minute. Then sprinkle the cornstarch in and whisk till combined.
3. Pour filling into the warm pie crust, return to the oven and bake for 15 minutes at 400° F 200 C. Lower the temperature to 350° F 175 C and continue baking for 40 minutes or until the center jiggles slightly when moved.
4. Remove pie from the oven and cool completely at room temperature, then place in the refrigerator to cool completely. Serve pie chilled or at room temperature with fresh whipped cream.

Enjoy!!