Thursday, March 7, 2013

30 before 30: #9 - make a sweet pie from scratch

I have a confession. 
Up until last weekend I'd never before made my own pastry. 
Wait.
It gets worse. 
Up until last weekend, I'd never made a sweet pie or tart of any kind. 

You have my full permission to stop reading now. All my credibility as a foodie has likely vanished. I get it.

If you're still with me at this point, please let me explain. I'm a person who likes structure generally in life, but for some reason prefer to use recipes as inspiration, rather than a step by step guide to a dish (i.e. what they're meant for). This works perfectly well for savoury dishes, breads, even some cakes, where you can taste as you go. My experimental approach to cooking does not gel so well, however, with more technique-focussed dishes, where specific quantities, ingredients and cooking times are required in order not to...well...this:

 
You'll be pleased to know that, while not the prettiest pie in the world, this pumpkin pie was a resounding success and most definitely not an epic fail. 



While it's clearly not the most beautiful pie to grace the face of the planet (does the word "rustic" jump to mind, anyone?), it sure as heck was tasty! I *basically* used this recipe (yup, even after recognising that such delights require me to follow a recipe, I couldn't help but make some modifications). Because pumpkin puree is not readily available in pre-made form in Australia, I wrapped my slabs of pumpkin in foil and baked in the oven for around an hour, before scooping the flesh from the skin and pulverising in the blender.  I also upped the levels of spice on all fronts - big flavours are the best. Finally, I couldn't quite get the pastry to roll out on a lightly floured bench, so I sandwiched it between two sheets of grease-proof paper and had no problem.  


The result was a most delicious dessert. And you know what? Pastry isn't as scary as I thought. It does require forethought and planning, so it may not make a regular appearance on our menus (probably a good thing for our waistlines, mind!), but I can certainly see myself adding to my tart repertoire (once a tart always a tart?!) for special occasions in the future. 

7 comments:

  1. The pie looks wonderful... even though pumpkin pie scares me! LOL. :) Hey, you can get the pureed pumpkin from USA foods, if you ever make this again.
    I love following recipes! I have no confidence whatsoever cooking without them yet. Too scary. Eek!

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    1. Yes, I heard that the cans of pumpkin puree are available from USA Foods, but I had two beautiful pieces of pumpkin in the fridge, so I couldn't really justify the trip over there. Have you been before?
      I think I learnt my "recipe rebellion" technique from my mum, who always has to make some sort of modification to a recipe when she cooks...must be genetic ;)

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    2. Oh yes, I have been to USA foods a few times. I live only about 10-15 minutes from there. :) It is fun to go there to look at all the products!

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  2. We must have some sort of odd pyschic food connection going on; I was just thinking about making a tart some time soon too! Am loving your food styling x

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    1. It wouldn't surprise me - I've often thought that we're septic... :P
      You should definitely give it a crack - not as hard as I had anticipated.

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  3. I've never made pastries from scratch either :P I'm sure you've done a heaps better job than me if I tried!

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    1. You're too kind, Jenny - I suspect any pastry you make would have been photographed beautifully (and thus looked better) in any case...hehe! Hope your new business is going well :)

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