Pumpkins and Custards

Pumpkin Flan

by Sidonie Maroon, culinary educator for the Food Coop.

Pumpkins

In baskets and bowls, the autumn harvest fills my kitchen island — Walla Walla sweet onions, apples, pears, delicatas and a pie pumpkin. At dinner my husband asked me if people eat Jack-o’-lantern pumpkins? “You can,” I replied, “but that’s where they decide pumpkins aren’t worth the trouble, because they’re not bred for flavor like a pie pumpkin.”

I buy a pie pumpkin that’ll fit in my six quart Instant Pot, give it a few stabs with the chef’s knife, put a cup of water in the pot’s bottom, and set it to high pressure for 20 minutes with a natural release. This is the easiest way to make pumpkin puree that I’ve encountered. I don’t have to break the squash down or remove the seeds. The seeds cook with the pumpkin, so I can dry and roast them if I want, or use them with the stringy parts in vegetable broth. The skin softens to the place where it disappears into the puree, and I get its nutritional benefits. 

When the pumpkin’s cooked and almost falls apart, I spoon out the guts and seeds and blend the flesh with a little water. My last little pumpkin made five cups of baby food smooth velvety puree. That’s 2 ½ cans of pumpkin at almost $3 a can. It’s savings besides superior in flavor and nutrition, and you can freeze the puree to make pies, custards, soups and breads throughout the winter.

With my last five cups of pumpkin puree, I made a loaf of pumpkin bread, pumpkin custards, and ate the last cup with a sprinkle of cinnamon.

Of course, the same method applies to other winter squashes, and it’s a boon for those hard to chop into. If it’s too big for the Instant Pot or slow cooker, put it in a roasting covered pan with an inch or two of water at the bottom and bake it for an hour at 425 F.

Custards

Winter squash custards are part of my seasonal tradition and easy to make. They taste like pumpkin pie without the fussing over a crust and, when made in ½ cup ramekins, are a portioned dessert.

There are two types of custard — the poured or stirred custard, which is made on the stovetop, and thickened with either eggs or cornstarch. Crème anglaise is a good example and used to fill pastries and tarts. The other is the set or baked custard, which includes eggs and milk. I puree together the ingredients and baked at 325 F in a water bath. Crème brûlée is the classic example, as are cream pies or savory quiches.

By The Way

When you don’t add a crust to a quiche, it’s not a crustless quiche but a custard. Which is funny because the word custard comes from the word crust, because in medieval Europe they baked custards in thick stodgy crusts to contain them. 

Pumpkin Pie Spice

If you want your pumpkin pie to rock, with rave reviews, seconds please, and may I have the recipe?

Grind spices into a powder and add the ginger paste separately. Enough For One Pie.

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon whole peppercorns

¾ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

3 whole cloves

½ teaspoon allspice berries

1 tablespoon ginger paste

Pumpkin Ginger Cardamom Custards

Makes 8 ramekins

Creamy, light like a cloud, and so flavorful.

Ingredients

2 cups pumpkin puree

½ cup sour cream

½ cup whole milk

3 eggs

1 tablespoon finely minced ginger or paste

1 vanilla bean or 2 teaspoons vanilla extract  

2 teaspoons liquid 100% monk fruit or ¾ cup sugar

Spices

½ teaspoon sea salt

2 teaspoons cinnamon

½ teaspoon grated whole nutmeg

½ teaspoon decorticated cardamom 

¼ teaspoon black peppercorns

Directions

1. Ready eight ½ cup ramekins in a casserole with an inch of water in the bottom. Preheat the oven to 325 F.

2. Using a spice or coffee grinder, grind the whole spices and salt into a powder. Finely mince fresh ginger, or use a paste.

3. Add to a blender (I use a Vitamix): the pumpkin, sour cream, milk, eggs, ginger, spices, and sweetener. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean, or add extract. Blend at a high speed until creamy.

4. Pour ½ cup of the custard into each ramekin. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until set. Allow to cool and serve. Chill the extras and eat within a week.

Pumpkin Pie with Pecan Crust

Serves 8

Pumpkin pie with a caramel pecan crust, and maybe the best pumpkin pie ever. 

Pecan Date Crust

1 ½ cup/200g pitted deglet dates

1 ½ cup/170g pecans

¼ cup/30g ground flaxseeds or pre-ground flax meal    

4 tablespoons unsalted butter melted

2 tablespoons maple syrup

¼ teaspoon sea salt

Pie Filling

1 1/2 cups/ 400g pumpkin puree

1 ¼ cups/300 ml canned full fat coconut milk 

1/2 cup /100g brown sugar (or 1 teaspoon monk fruit powder for a sugar-free filling)  

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon whole allspice berries

1/4 teaspoon whole peppercorns

3/4  teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

3 whole cloves

1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grind or mince into a paste

3 large eggs

Instructions

Pie Filling

1. Grind whole spices together in a coffee or spice grinder with cinnamon, brown sugar, and salt. Grate the fresh nutmeg and add to the spice mix.

2. Using a blender, puree the coconut milk, pumpkin puree, ginger, spice mix and eggs until smooth (I use a Vitamix). Using a rubber spatula, scrape the puree into a liquid measuring cup.

Pie Crust and Pie Baking

1. Measure crust ingredients into a food processor. Process until a sticky mass forms. Scrape the dough out and press evenly into the bottom and sides of a 9-inch glass pie plate or tart tin with a removable bottom. Compact the dough on the sides and bottom with the palm of your hand. Prick the crust bottom all over with a fork.

2. Preheat the oven to 400 F. Bake the crust, with a baking sheet under the pie plate, for 7 to 8 minutes or until it smells toasty and looks caramel colored. Reduce the heat to 350 F. Using a rubber spatula, scrape the filling into the crust and smooth the top with the spatula. Arrange strips of aluminum foil over the crust to protect it from burning.

3.Bake the pie until the middle’s set and puffy — 40 to 45 minutes.

The pie will continue to set as it cools.

Pumpkin Spice Bread

Makes a 9-inch round cake-bread

Dry Ingredients

½ cup pre-washed quinoa

¼ cup amaranth seed

¼ cup raw chickpeas

¼ cup flax meal

1 tablespoon psyllium seed husk powder

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons powdered cinnamon

1 teaspoon monk fruit powder

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

½ teaspoon whole allspice berries

3 whole cloves

½  teaspoon decorated cardamom (seeds without hulls) 

¼ teaspoon whole peppercorns

½ teaspoon anise seed 

Additions

½ cup chopped pecans

Wet Ingredients 

¼ cup apple cider vinegar

½ cup unsalted butter, melted

1 ¼ cups pumpkin puree

1 tablespoon fresh ginger, ground into a paste (I use a small food processor to do this.)

Directions

1. Using a Vitamix, grind the dry ingredients, for 1 minute, into a flour and sift into a large mixing bowl. Regrind and add any remaining pieces. Add pecans to the flour.

2. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a 9-inch round cake pan with a removable bottom with parchment paper and grease.

3. Mix wet ingredients together and stir into dry. Smooth into the cake pan.

4. Bake for 30 minutes. Turn out onto a cake stand or plate. Cool before slicing. Waiting for the bread to cool is important, because it firms as it cools.

The Sweet Warming Spices 

Aroma and Taste

Allspice—fragrant with a peppery combination of cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg flavors.

Cardamom — The aroma is mellow, and the flavor warming and agreeable.  

Cinnamon — What we call cinnamon is actually cassia or Chinese cinnamon. True cinnamon, has a lighter color with a sweet woody aroma and is both fragrant and warm. Both cassia and cinnamon are useful.  

Cloves — cloves have an assertive aroma, hot and bitter. Tempered by cooking and other ingredients. 

Coriander—sweet woody aroma with a peppery balsamic note.

Fennel, Anise and Star Anise—smell and taste similar with subtle differences. All are warm and fragrant with a slight note of camphor. Star anise has a more pungent licorice flavor.

Ginger — a warm aroma with a woody note and sweet rich undertones. Its flavor is hot and slightly biting.    

Nutmeg—rich, fresh, highly aromatic and warm

Peppercorns—warm woody smell that is fresh, pungent and agreeably aromatic.

Storing Spices

I’m a visual person, so I arrange my spices on a shelf near my work area, and use 4 ounce glass jars, grouped, in trays, by use. Beauty and efficiency are my aims 

Grinding Spices

I use a small stainless steel spice grinder with two removable cups made by Secura. One cup is for dry spices and the other for wet pastes. This piece of equipment is a kitchen significant change.

Baking Cheat Sheet

These are the spice amounts I regularly use for bread, cake or cookies. They all harmonize, so mix and match according to what you’re baking.

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, or cassia

1 teaspoon of either fennel or anise seeds

2 whole star anise

¼ teaspoon allspice whole berries

¼ teaspoon black peppercorns

½ teaspoon grated nutmeg

4 whole cloves

½ teaspoon whole green cardamom pods

2 teaspoons powdered ginger or 1 tablespoon fresh paste

1 teaspoon coriander seed

Make Your Own Powdered Ginger

When you have extra fresh ginger chop and grind it in a small food processor. I leave the peels on for flavor and nutrition. Lay the ground ginger on a plate, at room temperature, and air dry for several days. Once dry, use a spice grinder to reduce it to a powder and store. Try drying other rhizomes, like turmeric and galangal, in the same way.

Perfect Pumpkin Pie Spice

Here’s my secret formula: if you want your pumpkin pie to rock, with rave reviews, seconds please, and may I have the recipe? Grind the whole dry spices together into a powder and add the ginger paste separately.

Enough For One Pie

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon whole peppercorns

¾ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

3 whole cloves

½ teaspoon whole allspice berries

1 tablespoon fresh ginger paste