savory pumpkin pie + quinoa crust

Do you feel like you're being bombarded by amazing recipes all the time?  I certainly do. With so many great blogs, books, and food people out there, I feel like I come across at least a dozen recipes a day where I am like – wow, that’s looks really delicious and different. Sometimes there are so many good recipes that I feel like I can't keep up, and I have to shut that internet down and go for a walk. 

I wonder if you counted EVERY SINGLE recipe on the internet and in cookbooks that came out this year, how many years would it take one person to make all of these recipes …….. probably about 4 billion years. And, how about the recipes that we’ve pinned and bookmarked just for ourselves? At least several years worth of cooking.

It's crazy. How do we navigate it all? How do we control how much we are being inspired every day?

Well …. I'm sorry, but I don't have an answer for you. I do know that I am trying to manage the amount of inspiration I allow in every day so I don't feel overwhelmed. Inspiration is wonderful and has made us all better and more exciting cooks, but too much inspiration is …. exhausting. 

So within all of the amazing recipes that we have saved, we still have to decide what one thing to make for dinner tonight. And you know what always wins around here? The simplest recipes that are healthy, and easy to throw together.

I recently purchased Donna Hay’s new book: Fresh and Light,  and despite the mound of recipes I have saved on my computer waiting to be cooked,  I keep going back to this book night after night for the fact that the recipes are so simple and clean. Just how I like them. I have cooked about 6 or 7 different dinners from this book before I came across this recipe I am sharing today for a pumpkin pie, a savory kind, with a two-ingredient quinoa crust.

How did I not see this recipe weeks ago when I started cooking from this book, and how is quinoa crust not A THING already? Maybe it is …. I blame all of this on my information overload problem. 

Well, now that I went on a rant on recipe overload, here I am …. adding to the mix with another delicious, revolutionary recipe, but I can hardly take any credit for this one. This quinoa crust really is one of the raddest recipes I have come across recently, with so many possibilities. Of all the recipes out there, trust me, this is one you will want in your back pocket.  

After testing this recipe a few times, I decided if you are a purist, then this works as is. But if you are someone like me who is a purist who needs a little kick once in a while, then this crust might benefit from some sprucing up in the form a couple of tablespoons of miso butter or melted ghee mixed with the quinoa and egg mixture. I am also a big fan of sauces, and here I think a good drizzle of pesto or cashew cheese over top is a good idea.  

 

savory pumpkin pie + quinoa crust

MAKES a 9" pie

INGREDIENTS

For the quinoa crust:
1 cup of quinoa, rinsed
2 cups of vegetable broth
salt + pepper
1 egg white
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons of melted miso butter (optional)

for the pumpkin filling:
about 2 cups of fresh pumpkin (or butternut squash), peeled and cut into chunks
2 zucchinis, cut into chunks
1 small onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
salt + pepper
1/2 teaspoon of dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon of dried rosemary
a couple tablespoons of olive oil
8 sage leaves, minced

METHOD

Start by making the quinoa:

• Place the quinoa and broth in a stockpot, bring to a boil, cover and reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and give it a good stir and let it cool down.

Then roast the filling:

• Pre-heat the oven to 400º. Place the pumpkin, zucchini, and onion onto a baking sheet. Whisk together the minced garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper and the pour over the vegetables. Finish with the minced sage and bake for 25 minutes, until the vegetables are tender. Remove from the oven and set aside while you make the curst.

Make the quinoa crust:

• Lower the oven temperature to 325º. Grease a pie plate.
• Place the quinoa, salt, pepper, and egg into a small bowl and mix well to combine. 
• Press the quinoa mixture evenly throughout the pie plate. Bake for 25-30 minutes until the crust is set. Remove from the oven.

Fill and finish baking the pie:

• Spoon the pie filling into the pie crust and place it in the oven for 10 minutes until everything is warmed through. If you would like to add any cheese, do so before you place it back into the oven.
• Remove, and allow it to cool slightly before serving. If you would like to wait to serve, then keep the filling and crust separate and heat together before you are ready to serve.