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I've bought a pumpkin to do a lantern with and I'd love to make a pumpkin pie with it but don't have a food processor. Is it impossible to make it without one? tia

word processor

sorry, yep, I've made it without a food processor
I've done the recipe on the Abel Cole website.

HAHAHAHa

Yep you can

roffle at word processor.

Oh roffle.

Is it the spelling that's causing you problems?

I should hope that you wouldn't need a word processor to make food!

oh so glad it's not just me who rofled at title

Narf!!

Can you mash it?

No - you'll end up making pimpkin pue instead

I can say with certainty that you can make pumpkin pie without a word processor!!

Will it be okay to make pie? The ones in our sainsburys said "carving pumpkins" so I am assuming they aren't good to eat?

Hmm I don't think you need a word processor for making pumpkin pie James - although one may be useful when preparing Alphabet Soup.....

LOL just got back and read this, god I'm an idiot, don't even know where that came from!

Ahem, yes, FOOD processor, everyone...

Thanks paisleyleaf, that recipe looks good!

Pumpkin Pie

* 175g/6oz plain flour
* 75g/3oz butter
* 100g caster sugar
* 2 tbsp cold water
* pinch salt
* 450 g (1 lb) prepared weight pumpkin flesh, cut into 2.5 cm (1 in) chunks
* 2 large eggs plus 1 yolk
* 1 tsp ground cinnamon
* ½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
* ½ tsp ground allspice
* ½ tsp ground cloves
* ½ tsp ground ginger
* 275 ml (10 fl.oz) double cream

Pre-heat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/Gas Mark 4. Sift the flour and salt into a bowl. Cut the butter into small pieces and rub it into the flour until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add 2 tablespoons of cold water to mix it into a firm dough, then wrap it in cling film and chill for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, to make the filling, steam the pumpkin, then put it in a sieve and press lightly to extract any excess water. Then lightly whisk the eggs and the extra yolk together in a large bowl. Place the sugar, spices and cream in a pan, bring them to simmering point, stirring with a whisk regularly. Then pour this mixture over the eggs and whisk it again briefly.

Now add the pumpkin pureé, still whisking everything until it is thoroughly combined. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface, then use it to line a 20cm flan dish. Prick the entire surface with a fork and bake blind at 190ºC/375ºF/Gas mark 5 for 15 minutes until just firm to the touch.

Then pour the filling into your pastry case and bake for 35-40 minutes, by which time it will puff up round the edges but still feel slightly wobbly in the centre. Then remove it from the oven and place the tin on a wire cooling rack. Serve chilled (stored loosely covered in foil in the fridge) with some equally chilled créme fraïche, but warm or at room temperature would be fine.

If you cut all the flesh out of your carving pumpkins and stew it down in a pan, no water added, it will produce a huge amount of water, if you keep it cooking it will reduce to about a quarter of the volume and actually taste of something, as well as make a better consistency pudding. You don't need to do this with little eating pumpkins so much, but the big ones are very watery.

Thanks Riponite, I made the pie tonight, except it turned into two pies as the pie shell was quite shallow. I wish I'd read your advice prior to starting!

I boiled up the pumpkin with an inch of water as recommended by the recipe I was following. I probably didn't quite do it for long enough, about 20 min. Then I drained it through a sieve til it was like pulp, and mashed it. It was still too fibrous to go through a sieve so decided to just finish it off as it was.

The texture isn't sticky like a treacle tart, and it's not very sweet despite using condensed milk, but it was still nice. Needed to use a much deeper pie case really. And probably a smaller pumpkin/squash, because I've heard carving pumpkins aren't actually that good for cooking with.

Going to make pumpkin pie today...