VEGAN/GF PUMPKIN PIE

Makes enough for one 9-inch pie plate
Preparation Time: 4 to 5 hours start to finish (1.5 hours active)

No doubt that making a pie from scratch is always a project! Even so, it’s a project of love that can be a lot of fun as you create memories with family and friends each holiday season.

For the Filling
1 sugar pumpkin (5 pounds), baked and puréed (3 cups)
2 tablespoons psyllium husk
3 tablespoons tapioca starch
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
¾ teaspoon ground cardamom
½ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ to ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1½ to 2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
¾ tsp salt
1¼ cups coconut sugar
1 cup whole fat coconut milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the Single Crust
4 to 6 tablespoons ice water
7 to 8 tablespoons coconut oil
½ cup King Arthur Gluten-Free Multipurpose Flour
1 cup sifted almond flour
½ cup sweet sorghum flour
2 tablespoons psyllium husks
2 tablespoons tapioca starch
¼ teaspoon xanthan gum
½ teaspoon mineral salt
2 tablespoons vegan sour cream 
½ tablespoon (1½ teaspoons) apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup

For the Topping
2 cups Vegan Whipped Cream (recipe in Sacred & Delicious, page 241)
¼ cup pomegranate seeds (optional)

Cook’s Tip: 1. Use 2.5 cups pumpkin in a 9-inch pie pan or 3 cups in a 9.5 or 10-inch pie pan. 2. I prefer mixing the dough by hand because it’s easy to over-process gluten-free flours in a food processor, making the crust tough.

1. Prepare the pumpkin: Adjust the oven rack to the lower-middle position and preheat oven to 450˚F. Cut the pumpkin in half and scoop out the seeds and surrounding pulp strands. Cover the bottom of a 9×12 (or larger) baking dish with a piece of parchment paper. Place the pumpkin halves with the flesh down on the paper, and cover with foil. Bake for 1 hour or until the pumpkin flesh is completely tender when you poke it with a fork. Let it cool for 30 minutes or longer. Scoop the flesh out of the shell, and purée the flesh in a food processor. Check to make sure there are no lumps; if you find lumps, pulse again until the purée is completely smooth. Move the purée to a strainer and strain over a mixing bowl for at least 10 minutes. Set aside 2 ½ cups of the purée.

2. Prepare the crust: Chill water in freezer at least 15 minutes in advance if you don’t have refrigerated water or ice available. Measure coconut oil onto a plate; then place it in the refrigerator for 10 minutes only.

3. Whisk together the dry ingredients in a medium-sized mixing bowl.

4. Combine 4 tablespoons (¼ cup) of ice water in a separate bowl with the vegan sour cream, vinegar, and maple syrup. Add the liquid gradually to the flour mixture, mixing by hand until the dough comes together. Add coconut oil a tablespoon at a time to the flour mixture, blending the oil into the flour with a pastry cutter until the dough forms small crumbs. Add up to 4 more tablespoons of ice water until the dough becomes moist enough to gather into a ball.

5. Turn the dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap and flatten it into a round disk and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for 1 hour or overnight. If you’ve chilled the dough for several hours, remove it from the refrigerator ½ hour before rolling, giving the dough a chance to soften slightly. Roll the dough to 12-inches in diameter between two large sides of plastic wrap. (Use one large sheet of plastic wrap, placing it so that it’s both above and below the dough as you roll it out. Make sure the sheet of plastic wrap is large enough to cover the dough, above and below, when it’s fully rolled out.) (You may need to put two pieces of plastic wrap together for both top and bottom sheets to be large enough.) After rolling out the dough, take off the top sheet of plastic wrap and gently invert the dough over the pie plate. Then carefully lift off the second sheet of plastic wrap as you press the dough into the pan with your other hand. Trim off the excess dough before creating fluted edges. Put the pie pan with its raw crust into the freezer for 30 minutes to an hour before pouring the filling into the crust.

6. Prepare for baking: Preheat the oven to 425°F and adjust the oven rack to one level lower than the middle position.

7. Prepare the filling: Combine the arrowroot, spices, and salt in a small bowl and set aside. Combine the pumpkin puree with the sugar, coconut milk, and vanilla in a stand mixer or large mixing bowl. Blend on moderate speed in the stand mixer or with a handheld mixer until well combined. Add the dry ingredients and mix well.

8. Bake the pie: Pour the filling into the crust. If you haven’t moved the oven rack down, then at this point cover the edges of the crust with a pie shield to avoid the crust’s burning. (Alternatively, you can make a do-it-yourself pie shield by creating an aluminum foil cover for the edges of the crust.) Bake the pie at 425°F about 30 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 325°F for an additional 30 minutes or more—until the center moves only slightly when jiggled. Let the pie cool on a rack for 1 to 2 hours. Cut with a straight-edged knife. Serve warm or chill first and serve later at room temperature with a sprinkling of pomegranate seeds (optional) and/or a dollop of Vegan Whipped Cream (see page 241 in Sacred & Delicious.)

Ayurvedic Note: Eating this pie in moderation is fine for the holiday, especially for vata and pitta. Moderation is the key always! Coconut milk and sugar increase kapha, but coconut is better for kapha than dairy products. Cardamom with food helps alleviate kapha.