Amongst the things I love the most, there’s pumpkin. Pumpkin pies, pumpkin bread, pumpkin muffin, pumpkin lattes… literally pumpkin everything. For a number of reasons, I can’t wait for autumn to come and this is one of them.
So as soon as pumpkins make their first appearance in supermarkets, I know it’s time to dip hands into some seasonal recipes and today, here I am with one of my November favourites: an Italian pumpkin pie with scamorza and speck.
I took inspiration from La Manina Golosa’s version, but made some changes to make it easier to cook even when you have no time to knead. Also, since I am gluten intolerant, I always go for gluten free ingredients (such as gluten free puff pastry), but you can choose whatever pastry you prefer.
The beauty of this recipe is that it’s 100% flexible and you can play around with ingredients. Scamorza and sliced speck add the final Italian touch, but if you can’t get hold of them, you can go for other cheeses (as long as they are smoked!) and bacon.
Ingredients
- 600g of pumpkin
- 1 puff pastry sheet (gluten free)
- 2 eggs
- 50g crème fraîche
- 15 slices of smoked Scamorza (Italian cheese)
- 1 slice of speck (or bacon, not diced though)
- sunflower seeds
- poppy seeds
- flax seeds
- olive oil
- salt
- rosemary sprigs
- pepper
Italian pumpkin pie: the recipe
Dice the pumpkin and remove the skin, then place it in a pan with olive oil, salt, 10g of water and some fresh rosemary sprigs.
Let cook on medium heat for 15 minutes, stirring from time to time until the pumpkin gets soft.
Remove any rosemary sprigs and blend the pumpkin until it’s creamy and homogeneous. Then let it cool down for 5-10 minutes.
In the meantime, lay the puff pastry in a cake pan or tin, leaving a 2-3cm border all around. Pierce the bottom with a fork (please do not forget this step or the pie will swell in the oven!) and lay all the slices of smoked Scamorza on it.
Cut the speck (or sliced bacon) into tiny strips and set aside.
In a bowl, mix together the mashed pumpkin, two eggs, 50g of crème fraîche (you can use sour cream as well), olive oil, a pinch of salt and pepper. Once the mixture is ready, pour it inside the pastry base, spray with the seeds (sunflower, poppy and flax) and garnish with the strips of speck.
Bake in the oven – fan assisted – based on the time and temperature required by the puff pastry you’ve used (you’ll just find the directions on the packaging): I usually go for 40-50 minutes at a temperature of 180°C.
And your Italian pumpkin pie is ready!
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