Sweet Potato / Pumpkin Pie

Wholemeal Flour Pie Crust (9 inch pie crust)

2 cups wholemeal spelt or wheat flour
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup cold pressed safflower or olive oil
1/4 cup water or apple juice (a bit sweeter)
1/2 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 180°
Combine ingredients and form into a dough. You can increase the oil to make a richer crust and use less water/juice.
Press with fingers into lightly oiled pie plate. If using more juice and less oil, you may need to roll out. Give it a go. Poke holes with a fork. Bake for 10 minutes. Add filling.

Filling

1 butternut pumpkin or small jap pumpkin (approximately 1 1/2 kgs.)
1 cup apple juice or water
1 tsp. sea salt
2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice or use 1 tsp. cinnamon and 1/2 tsp. nutmeg, 1/4 tsp. ginger powder, 1/4 tsp. powdered cloves
1/2-1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup rice syrup or maple syrup
Crust: Use Crust Recipe above

Binder:
1 1/2 Tbsp. kuzu or 2 Tbsp. arrowroot
1 rounded tsp. powdered agar
1/4 cup apple juice, or amasake or rice milk
Optional: 2 Tbsp. tahini or nut butter

Peel, cut and cube pumpkin. Combine pumpkin with 1 cup water or juice and salt. Pressure-cook 20 minutes or boil/simmer in heavy pot for 40 minutes until very soft. Alternatively, you can bake the pumpkin halves upside down for 45 minutes in 1/4 inch of water.

Puree pumpkin in a blender or food processor with cooking liquids, spices, vanilla and sweetener. Add nut butter if desired. If using baked pumpkin, add the liquid and salt when pureeing. Add slightly more water or juice as needed to make a smooth puree.

Oil pie plate. Prepare crust and pre-bake 10 -15 minutes.

Dissolve binder ingredients in cool liquid. Bring to a boil, simmer and stir over low heat 3-4 minutes to thicken. Add to pumpkin mixture and stir.

Spoon puree into pre-baked crust, bake at 180-200° for 30-35 minutes or until firm and golden. Cool at room temperature for several hours or chill before serving.

Recipe from Sahaja’s kitchen