Happy Thanksgiving!

As a kid I could never say few things. I would use ‘tha’ for ‘kha’…‘na’ for ‘ra’ and made up my own language. I had difficulty in saying pumpkin and I always called it ‘umpkin’. I grew up in south India where pumpkin not only appeared during holidays but was pretty much a normal everyday vegetable. Mum made curries with it and also made a gorgeous sweet halwa with it. For a long time I made this too, but I changed. Last Year, I made pumpkin cupcakes.

Anyways, it’s time for thanksgiving and there are things that always re-appear on the holiday table. One such thing is this humble umpkin pumpkin pie. It’s like Marmite you either love it or hate it!

With holidays soon approaching and things to do, it must be crazy week for everyone. Some of you have travel plans to be with your family, some of you must be busy planning Christmas menu, some of you amidst madness in crowded stores shopping for loved ones. And then some of us have to finish work before the holidays begin. phew!

But, I am really insanely thankful for all things truly important: great friends, far-away but dear family, good food, job I love & a good life. I am thankful for meeting S who loves me immensely for what I am {and loves food ;-)}, I am thankful for meeting lovely friends who have become family and for their amazing support and unconditional love. I am thankful for meeting new friends through this blog who have become a part of my life now. 

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

This robust pie has a very gorgeous roasted pumpkin flavour, smokily intense sweetness from dark brown sugar and honey, heightened creaminess with the use of ricotta & cream, spiciness from the fresh ground spices & zestiness from fresh orange zest & booziness from brandy to remind us of holiday flavours.. 

Pumpkin Ricotta-Brandy Pie
For the pastry I used the recipe from here
For the filling:

Ingredients
800g of roasted pumpkin puree
4 eggs
100g dark brown sugar
120ml heavy cream
100g ricotta or mascarpone or cream cheese
3 tbsp brandy
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp sea salt
2 tbsp acacia honey
1 tbsp pumkin spice mix (cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg)
More whipped cream for piping on top.
Method:
Whizz everything in a processor & pour onto baked pie shell. Bake in a pre-heated 180C oven, for about 35-45 minutes or until it slightly wobbles. Allow to cool to room temperature. Refrigerate for a few hours before slicing and pipe some cream on top.