Tofu Pumpkin Pie
From the website Eco Child's Play, by Jennifer Lance. Printed with permission.
Prepare the Pumpkin:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Of course, you can make tofu pumpkin pie from pumpkin in a can, but starting from the squash is more wholesome and fun. Cut an organic, small pumpkin in half (the sugar pie variety is best, but really any pumpkin will do). Lay the pumpkin halves face down on a cookie sheet. Next, poke holes in the skin of pumpkin with a fork, like you would to bake a potato. Bake the pumpkin for about 45 minutes, or until it is tender when poked with a fork.
The Crust: To make the crust, mix together:
* 1/2 cup organic, unbleached white flour
* 1/2 cup organic whole wheat flour
* 1/4 cup finely crushed walnuts (optional)
* Tiny dash of salt
Cut into the dry mixture 1/3 cup of chilled Earth Balance margarine. The trick to a flaky crust is to not let the margarine warm, so if you need to use your fingers to crumble it, be careful not to let the margarine absorb too much of your body heat. Add 2 to 3 tablespoons of cold water, then mix the dough until it just holds together: Do not over handle the dough if you want a flaky crust! Form the dough into a ball and chill it in the refrigerator for 20 minutes. In a crunch, you can place the dough in the freezer for 10 minutes. Next, roll the dough on a floured surface and place it into a greased pie plate. Prebake the pie shell at 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes. Pouring dry beans into the pie shell will help it hold its shape while prebaking.
The Filling:
Combine in a food processor (or by hand):
* 1/2 pound tofu (crumbled)
* 1 1/2 cups of pumpkin (just spoon it out of the cooked squash)
* 1/2 cup honey, or other syrup
* 1/4 cup soymilk
* 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
* 1/8 tsp mace
* 1/4 tsp nutmeg, coriander, and allspice, ginger, cloves
* 1 tsp vanilla
Blend the mixture very well, then add it to the pie crust. You can substitute premixed Pumpkin pie spice, if you don't have all these spices. It is also good to be cautious with the spices and flavor the pie to your taste. Add the filling to the prebaked pie shell. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.
Adding tofu to desserts is a great way to give them more nutritional value and trick your friends and family into trying something new. Even my most conservative relatives (you know-the ones that voted for Bush), rave about my tofu pumpkin pie. Sometimes I wait until they have taken their first bite to reveal the secret tofu ingredient.
This recipe is adapted from the Horn of the Moon Cookbook
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