Ingredients
| 600g pumpkin (I used crown), peeled | |
| 80g butter, melted | |
| 1 Granny Smith apple, cored | |
| 2 tablespoons sugar | |
| 1 tablespoon runny honey | |
| ¼ teaspoon cinnamon | |
| ¼ teaspoon garam masala | |
| ¼ teaspoon salt | |
| 1 cup toasted walnuts, chopped | |
| 1 teaspoon orange blossom water, or use zest of ½ orange (optional) | |
| 1 packet filo pastry | |
| icing sugar, for dusting | |
| HONEY SYRUP | |
| 100g sugar | |
| ¼ cup honey | |
| ½ cup water | |
| 2 teaspoons orange blossom water, or use finely grated rind of 1 orange |
American-style sweet pumpkin pies are not really my thing, however a baklava-style dessert with walnuts definitely is. This is a rich and very sweet dessert, so cut it into thin wedges. While I’ve baked it in a round, you could instead use a rectangle or square tin to cut into small squares or diamonds. I like to use a larger tin so that the pie isn’t too deep.
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Instructions
| 1. | For the honey syrup, put the sugar, honey and water in a pan with the orange rind, if using, bring to a simmer and cook over a low heat for 10 minutes. |
| 2. | Remove from the heat and add the orange blossom water, if using. Set aside to cool. |
| 3. | For the pie, remove and discard the seeds of the pumpkin. You should have around 450g peeled pumpkin. |
| 4. | Grate in a food processor or by hand using a fine grater. |
| 5. | Put 1 tablespoon melted butter into a non-stick pan and cook the pumpkin for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. This helps to dry out the mix. It will turn into a mash and be mostly cooked through. |
| 6. | Grate the apple and squeeze out any liquid. |
| 7. | Add to the pumpkin along with the sugar, honey, cinnamon, garam masala, salt, ¾ cup walnuts and the orange blossom water or orange zest, if using. Set aside to cool. |
| 8. | Use some of the butter to grease a 26cm round springform tin (or use a rectangular tin). |
| 9. | Brush two pieces of filo with some butter and put into the tin, letting the pieces hang over the side. |
| 10. | Repeat this twice more (six pieces in total) so that the base and sides are well covered. |
| 11. | Spoon in half the filling and spread thinly over the base. |
| 12. | Repeat with another 6 pieces of filo as before, then top with the remaining filling. Fold the ends of the filo over the filling. |
| 13. | Brush two more filo sheets with butter and pleat over the top, tucking in the ends. Brush with the remaining butter. |
| 14. | Score the top with a knife into wedges or diamonds (this will make it easier to cut later on). Scatter over the remaining walnuts. |
| 15. | Heat the oven 180°C. |
| 16. | Bake for 45-50 minutes or until the pastry is golden. |
| 17. | If the top is browning too fast, cover with a sheet of baking paper. |
| 18. | Remove from the oven. Drizzle over the syrup while the pie is hot and then allow to cool. |
| 19. | Cut into slices, dust with icing sugar and serve with whipped cream, yoghurt or vanilla ice cream. Keep leftovers in the fridge. |
| 20. | VEGAN |
| 21. | Use maple or agave syrup in place of honey. Use sunflower oil in place of butter. |
Recipes & food styling Ginny Grant / Photography Aaron McLean / Styling Jess Hemmings