I found a great cookbook recently at my local thrift store, called Clean Food: A Seasonal Guide to Eating Close to the Source by Terry Walters. This is my first recipe in using this book and I am already loving the focus on local, seasonal cooking. This pie was so easy to make and after trying a piece, my friend B said that this was the best pie he had ever tasted. I am looking forward to trying more recipes in this beautiful book!
Silky Sweet Potato Pie
For the Crust:
1-1/2 cups pecans
1/4 cup chickpea flour (or whatever flour you have on hand- I used spelt this time, but chickpea flour will add a rich and creamy texture to the crust)
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 tablespoons maple syrup
pinch of sea salt
For the Filling:
3 medium sweet potatoes
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup rice milk (I used almond milk)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 tablespoon arrowroot powder
1 teaspoon agar powder
Preheat oven to 350 defrees (F). Wash the sweet potatoes, place them on a cookie sheet and bake until soft time will vary according to the size of the potatoes. Remove from oven and set aside.
Meanwhile, chop pecans in a food processor until it resembles fine meal. Add chickpea flour and process briefly to combine. Add oil, syrup and salt and process to form dough. Lightly grease a 9-inch pie plate with canola oil, add dough and press to form an even crust (about 1/4-inch thick). Pierce several times with a fork and bake for 12 minutes. Remove from oven and set on a wire rack to cool.
When sweet potatoes are cool enough to handle, remove skins and cut into large pieces. Place in cleaned food processor bowl and add maple syrup, rice milk, vanilla, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, arrowroot and agar powder. Process until smooth.
Pour filling into pie crust, cover edges with foil and bake for 50 minutes until lightly browned. Remove from oven and cool completely on wire rack. Serve at room temperature or cold. Enjoy!
Resource:
Walters, T. (2009). Clean Food: A Seasonal Guide to Eating Close to the Source. New York, NY: Sterling Publishing Co. Inc.