Butternut Squash Pie

Here's my latest recipe, as it appeared in the November 5th edition of my local newspaper, The Hinton Voice. 

[Move over pumpkin, there’s a new pie in town.

I decided to teach a pie class as a cooking class right before Thanksgiving, and as a result, 6 of the pumpkins that I picked up in BC the week before got sacrificed for the greater good of the class leaving me with only 1 pumpkin for myself (and I had 2 pies to make that weekend).  No problem, I thought – I’ll just run to the grocery store and grab another!  No such luck, since trying to find a sugar pumpkin (the perfect pumpkin for baking) when you’re not in a city or near any pumpkin patches can sometimes be a near impossible feat.

I remember making sweet potato pie, thinking that it was very similar in flavour, so I was about to go that route when I happened to read online that the contents of a popular brand of canned pumpkin (in the US) is actually a form of butternut squash.  It made perfect sense.  Butternut squash is very similar; yet better in every conceivable way.  It roasts quicker, the skin is thin and easy to remove after roasting, the seeds are better for roasting (they have more seed than shell), and even the goop inside is easier to clean since there is far less empty space in a butternut squash than a pumpkin.

I roasted both the pumpkin and butternut squash side by side, and had some friends try a blind taste test.  The butternut squash won every single time – it was sweeter, had a more vibrant color, and was just an all around a better tasting squash.   It was time to put it to the official test though – pie.   When Thanksgiving rolled around, I brought both kinds of pie and I kid you not, the pumpkin pie sat completely untouched on the table until not a single slice of butternut squash pie remained.  Not only was it hands down the greater pie, it also made for an excellent conversation starter too!]

Ingredients

- 1 pie crust  (I use an all butter pie crust for this, which you can find on the blog)

- 2 cups butternut squash puree (see note below)

- 2 eggs, plus the yolk of a third egg

- 1 ½ cups heavy cream

- ½ cup packed dark brown sugar

- 1/3 cup white sugar

- ½ tsp salt

- 2 tsp cinnamon

- 1 tsp ground ginger

- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg

- ¼ tsp ground cloves

- ¼ tsp ground cardamom

Directions

Cut butternut squash in half, scrape out insides and rinse.

Place the squash halves cut side down and bake at 350 degrees until a fork can easily pierce through, about 45 minutes.  Remove from oven, let cool, and remove skin.

Puree.

Beat the eggs in a bowl, then add cream, sugars, salt, and spices. 

Pour the filling into an uncooked pie shell.  Bake at a high temperature of 425 degrees for 15 minutes.  Then after 15 minutes, reduce the temperature to 350 degrees.  Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until a knife inserted about an inch from the crust comes out clean.  About half way through cooking if the edges of the pie look too brown, you can cover them with foil.

Pie will look slightly puffed up when it comes out of the oven but will settle as it cools. Allow the pie to cool for 2 hours before serving.

Enjoy!