It’s getting to be that time when we’re thinking about our Thanksgiving plans and of course when you think about Thanksgiving dinner, pumpkin pie is one of the first things that comes to mind.
I made pumpkin puree the first time because my husband was horrified when I suggested making a pumpkin pie with –gasp – canned pumpkin. That was one of the rare instances when I have to admit that he was right, it turned out to be the best pumpkin pie I had ever made. It also turned out that making pumpkin puree was pretty easy. I’ve been making pumpkin pie with fresh pumpkin ever since.
If you can get your hand on some pumpkins, I’d seriously consider making fresh pumpkin puree for your pumpkin pie. And if you need a great pumpkin pie recipe, try this one.
I use pie pumpkins to make pumpkin puree which are a little sweeter than the pumpkins you use for jack-o-lanterns.
This may be my shortest ingredient list ever – one.
Start by slicing the pumpkins in half.
Scrape out the seeds – and save them to make some yummy roasted pumpkin seeds. Place the pumpkins all cut side up on a foil lined baking sheet (you want to minimize clean-up after all).
Bake at 350 degrees or about an hour until they are fork tender. A fork should slide in and out with very little resistance. One of my four pumpkins was significantly larger than the rest – I needed an extra 20 minutes for that guy. If you bake more than one at a time, don’t be afraid to take some out first and let the others cook longer.
Once the pumpkin is cooked, you’ll want to cut it up. I like to cut it into thin wedges.
Then remove the peel. If the pumpkin is still nice and warm you can just peel the skin away with your fingers. As the pumpkin cools it will be harder to pull away and you might need to use a paring knife.
Now all that’s left is to puree the pumpkin. I cut it into about one and a half inch chunks and add it to the food processor.
Now turn it on and let it run.
Until it’s nice and smooth. The four pie pumpkins I used in this post averaged from 3 to four cups of pumpkin puree.
At this point some people like to drain the excess liquid from the puree. If you want to do this extra step, I recommend lining a colander with cheese cloth and putting it over a larger bowl and letting it hang out for a while. I don’t do this step. The only reason is because the original instructions I got for pumpkin puree didn’t tell me to do it, and when I used it for pie it tastes great and the pie had the perfect texture. If it worked perfect, why do the extra work? Feel free to do what you want.
I package up extra puree in either one or one half cup portions in sandwich or snack size baggies. If you squeeze all the air out it should last in the freezer for at least a year – that’s as long as I’ve ever tested it anyway. In fact, the pumpkin pie recipe I posted last year was made with one year old pumpkin – and my mom called it the best pumpkin pie she’d ever had.
While I’m all about taking shortcuts, there are a few occasions when it makes sense to go the extra mile and do everything from scratch. This is one of those cases.
- Pie pumpkins
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Cut pumpkins in half. Scrape out the seeds.
- Place cut side up on a foil lined baking sheet. Bake for an hour or so until fork tender.
- Cut the pumpkin into wedges and remove the skin either by peeling or with a paring knife.
- Cut into one and one and a half inch pieces and puree in a food processor until smooth.
- Save unused puree in plastic bags in the freezer.
[…] want to take the time you can certainly use canned pumpkin, but there is something about that homemade pumpkin puree that makes it worth trying at least once. I certainly haven’t gone back to canned after that […]