Page 71 - United States of Pie

One 3-pound pumpkin yields approximately 1½ cups of purée.

HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE

PUMPKIN PURÉE

No, pumpkins don’t grow in cans, and yes, it is easy to make
your own pumpkin purée. Homemade pumpkin purée is lighter,
smoother, and more delicate than canned purée. It takes only
about an hour to roast a sugar pumpkin, the variety used for
baking (sometimes called “pie pumpkins” and not to be confused
with the standard jack-o’-lantern pumpkins left over from
Halloween), and that time is largely unattended. No stirring, no

tenting with foil, no brushing with olive oil. The most work that
you’ll have to do is scraping out the pumpkin’s webby pulp.
Once you’ve done that, there’s a bonus: you can pan-roast the
seeds and snack on them while the pumpkin is in the oven. After
you’ve roasted and puréed the pumpkin, it’ll need to drain
overnight (watery purée equals soggy pie), but again, just stick it

in the refrigerator and ignore.

One 3- to 5-pound sugar pumpkin

Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Using a sharp knife, cut off and discard the stem end of the
pumpkin. Slice the pumpkin in half through the stem end. Scrape
the seeds and pulp out of the interior. Place the pumpkin halves
cut side down on a baking sheet, and bake for 45 to 70 minutes,
depending on size. The pumpkin is ready when you can poke it
easily with a fork. Remove the pumpkin halves from the oven

and let them cool slightly.
Scrape out the pumpkin’s flesh, and discard the skin. Place the
flesh in a food processor and process it until completely smooth.
This should take about 1 minute.