PUMPKIN PIE


This is a vegetarian pie with a Moroccan style seasoning.

INGREDIENTS
1/2 Smallish butternut pumpkin
Pinch of salt
Olive oil
1 tbsp Cumin seed
1 tbsp Coriander seeds
1 Stick of cinnamon
1/2 Nutmeg, grated
1 Small onion, sliced thinly lengthwise
1/2 Red capsicum, seeds removed, sliced thinly lengthwise
1 Egg
1 tsp Poppy seeds
Flour for dusting
2 Sheets of frozen puff pastry

METHOD
Preheat the oven to 220°C . Peel and de-seed the pumpkin and cut into cubes. Arrange in a single layer on a baking tray covered in baking paper. Sprinkle with salt and drizzle with olive oil. Bake in the oven for about 25 minutes or until cooked through. Remove from the oven and place the pumpkin in a large bowl.

While the pumpkin is cooking heat a frying pan. Add the whole cumin, coriander and cinnamon into the hot, dry pan and pan roast the seeds, tossing frequently. As the seeds are roasting, grate the nutmeg into the pan.

Remove from the heat. Put the spices into a grinder and reduce to a powder. Alternatively hand grind with a pestle and mortar.

Add some oil to the frying pan and fry the onion and capsicum until lightly browned. Add in the spices and cook through.

Add the spiced onion and capsicum to the bowl containing the pumpkin. With a fork gently combine the vegetables, part mashing the pumpkin.

On a lightly floured board, lay out the puff pastry and allow it to defrost so that it is malleable. Whisk the egg in a small bowl for glazing the pie. On one sheet of pastry, arrange some of the pumpkin mix in the centre so that there is 2-3 cm clear around the edge to attach the top layer of pastry.

Brush the egg around the edge of the bottom layer of pastry, then add the top layer. With a fork push down gently around all the edges to seal the pie. Brush the top of the pie with the egg. With a knife pierce a hole in the centre of the pie to allow steam to escape. Sprinkle the pie with poppy seeds.

Transfer the pie to a baking tray covered with baking paper. Bake for 25mins until golden brown.

Alternatively make smaller individual pies by cutting the puff pasty in half and folding the pastry over the pumpkin mix.

Comments