Delicata Squash Pie

Since the very early days of this blog, I've asserted that if you're going to make a "pumpkin" pie from scratch with purée from a fresh vegetable, you should make it with squash, not pumpkin. Not only is the flavor generally better-- sweeter and more potent-- the consistency is much preferable-- less watery and less stringy than a pie pumpkin. My favorite squash to use is delicata. The long tubular gourd that's striped dark green and cream, indicates its taste via its name, which means "sweet". Delicatas can be harder to find than butternut or acorn squash (unless you live in Vermont, where they seem to be everywhere), but the quest is well worth it for the resulting pie.

This recipe, which I first made for a Burlington, Vermont "Seamonster Potluck" in 2006, was one of the four from Nothing in the House selected by King Arthur Flour to appear in their fall issue of Sift, alongside my article on the anthropology of pie. It's fitting, particularly as I'm not sure I'd had a delicata until I moved to Burlington, where my friend Andrea cut thin coins of them, topped them with masked celeriac, roasted them, and called it a "delicata cookie"-- one of my favorite savory treats to this day.

Here's the recipe that appeared in Sift, adapted from my original. King Arthur's lovely cream swirl didn't quite work out for me, so instead I whipped some extra cream just slightly, and drizzled it atop the baked and cooled pie.



Delicata Squash Pie

Ingredients
Nothing in the House pie crust, halved
1 1/2 cups evaporated milk or cream
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs, beaten
3 medium (1 3/4 pounds before cooking) delicata squash
Additional evaporated milk or cream, for swirling

Directions
1. Prepare half of Nothing in the House pie crust as per the directions, reserving the leftover egg for an egg wash. Chill dough at least one hour before rolling and fitting into a greased and floured 9-inch pie pan. Let chill in the fridge while you prepare the filling. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Halve the squash lengthwise, and use a spoon to scoop out the seeds. Bake, cut side down, in a 9 x 13-inch pan with 1/2 inch of water in the bottom. After 30-40 minutes, press the squash with your finger; when it's soft, it's done. Remove from the oven, and when cool enough to handle, scoop out 2 cups of the flesh. Purée until smooth. Increase the oven's temperature to 425 F.

3. For the filling: Combine the evaporated milk or cream, sugars, spices, salt, and eggs. Add to the squash and blend until smooth with a hand mixer or immersion blender. Pour the filling into the prepared pie shell. Add a swirl of cream or evaporated milk on top, or sprinkle with cinnamon for decoration, if desired (you could also drizzle with cream and/or sprinkle with cinnamon post-baking).

4. Placed the pie on a baking sheet, and bake for 15 minutes at 425°F. Reduce the temperature to 350 F and bake for another 40 to 45 minutes, until the pie is mostly set, and a 1-2 inch circle in the center still wobbles a bit when you nudge the pan. Remove the pie from the oven and cool it completely before slicing. Sprinkle with cinnamon and/or drizzle with whipped cream, if desired.

Related recipes:
Drunken Pumpkin Bourbon Pie with Mascarpone Cream
Pumpkin & Chai Spice Nut Butter Pie
Pumpkin Ginger Cheesecake Pie

The Anthropology of Pie in Sift Magazine

Earlier this year, I was given the dream assignment of writing "The Anthropology of Pie" for the fall issue of King Arthur Flour's baking magazine Sift. As I could write chapters on the subject (and maybe some day I will), I decided to zoom in on historical moments where pie has displayed its economy, ingenuity, and scrappiness to reinvent itself in contexts both urban and rural; commercial and domestic; individual, and communal.

Sift also included four of my pie recipes (three original, one adapted from the excellent First Prize Pies by Allison Kave), all of which first appeared on the blog: Cranberry Chocolate Chess Pie, Passion Fruit Meringue Pie with Macadamia Crust, Delicata Squash Pie (from the early days!), and Bourbon Ginger Pecan Pie.

Thank you to the kind folks at King Arthur flour, especially editor Susan Reid, photographer Mark Weinberg, and stylist Erin McDowell for making my pies and words look so good. Sift is available online and in many book and grocery stores around the country.

Photos via King Arthur Flour

Delicata Squash Pie

For the Seamonster potluck tonight I made a delicata squash pie--not a pumpkin pie, as many assumed it was. Actually (*pushes up pie-nerd glasses*), many of the cans of "pumpkin pie filling" found at your local supermarket have butternut squash, rather than pumpkin, as their main ingredient. I understand the flavor (not to mention consistency) is better, and it certainly was the case with this delicata pie--in fact, I believe delicata is named as such for its delicate, rich flavor.

This was my first time using a special ceramic pie plate given to me by my mother. It is extra deep for higher pies! As Todd suggested, it's so deep that there was room for an entire topping of whipped cream. I didn't have any, but Meghan did have some creme fraiche which did the trick.

I was pleased with how it turned out--everyone seemed to like it and none was left at the end of the night, but next time I think I will use more brown sugar than white sugar. Maybe I'll even use maple syrup (the local sweetener!) instead. But I wouldn't want the pie to taste like pancakes, right Mandy?

Delicata Squash Pie

Ingredients
Nothing in the House Pie Crust recipe, halved
1-1/2 cups undiluted evaporated milk (can use cream)

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon cloves

2 well-beaten eggs

3 medium delicata squash (I used some I picked at Healthy City Youth Farm in the Intervale!)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare pie crust using half of the Nothing-in-the-House recipe. Chill for at least 1 hour. Meanwhile, prepare the squash.

2. Halve and bake delicata squash face down in 1/2 inch of water at 350 degrees F until soft. Let cool. When cool enough to handle, measure 2 cups and blend until smooth.

3. Remove dough from the fridge, roll out crust and fit into a greased and floured pie plate. Increase oven temperature to 425 degrees F.

4. Combine undiluted evaporated milk, sugars, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves and beaten eggs. Add squash and blend until smooth with a hand mixer or immersion blender.

5. Pour filling into pie crust shell. For aesthetic affect, I added a last swirl of evaporated milk and sprinkled some cinnamon on top. Bake for 15 minutes at 425 degrees F, than reduce to 350 degrees and bake 45 minutes.

Photos updated October 2015. Updated recipe here.