Where’s the Pumpkin? Pie (AKA Raw Pumpkin Pie)

I love this pie.  I usually make it once or twice per year.  It is rich and creamy and spicy and raw – meaning, you do not have to cook it.  It is gluten-free and dairy-free and delicious and does not have pumpkin as an ingredient.  Rather, it gets its colour from carrots.

You do need special equipment for this one.  A juicer to juice the carrots, a food processor – for the almond crust, a large chef’s knife to cut open the young coconut, and a Vita-Mix or high powered blender to blend the filling. 

If you do not have the equipment, try to borrow it from friends and family and then share the pie with them!

Joanne Levesque RHN, Pure Med Office Manager and Holistic Nutritionist

Serves 12 to 16

Crust

2 cups almonds

3 mejool dates, pits removed

2 tablespoons maple syrup

¼ cup coconut oil

Large pinch of sea salt

Place almonds in food processor and process until it is mealy looking. 

Add the remaining ingredients to the food processor and process until all ingredients are well blended.  Place contents of food processor onto a nine inch pie plate.  Using your hands, press the crust into the plate creating a nice edge.  Refrigerate the crust while making the filling.

Filling

1 cup raw cashews, soaked for 4 hours

1 cup young coconut meat (found at Farmboy or Asian Markets), see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPvhxeg_PUA to learn how to properly open a young coconut

2 cups fresh carrot juice

¾ cup coconut oil

6 mejool dates, pits removed

½ cup maple syrup

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons ground ginger

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

½ teaspoon sea salt

Place all ingredients in the Vita-Mix and blend on high until the mixture is smooth and creamy.  Pour filling into pie crust and refrigerate for eight hours or overnight.  This pie is very rich so it can serve a lot of people.