From the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
This is the first "repeat" recipe. By "repeat" I mean I've already posted another recipe from Harry Potter,
Butterbeer, which was actually the first entry to this blog. Some nerdy things are just a plethora of tasty-sounding fantasy food, and Harry Potter is one of them. A pasty is a filled pastry case, commonly associated with Cornwall in the UK. It's made by placing filling on a flat pastry shape, usually a circle, and folding it to wrap the filling, crimping the edge to form a seal. The result is a raised semicircular package of yummy. In Harry Potter, Pumpkin Pasties are a wizarding food sold on the Hogwarts Express food trolley, and were enjoyed by Harry and Ron on their first trip to school. Traditional Cornish pasties are usually savory and filled with diced beef and potatoes, but since the main ingredient is pumpkin and it is sold with other sweets like chocolate frogs and jellybeans, it is assumed that Rowling's pasties are sweet. But, for those of you who always figured Pumpkin Pasties to be savory, here is my recipe recommendation:
Savory Pumpkin Pasties.
Ingredients
2 eggs, slightly beaten
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups fresh sugar pumkin (or 1lb. canned)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tbs. melted butter
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. cloves
1/2 tsp. cardamon
1/2 t. allspice
1 can evaporated milk
9 oz. pie crust pastry (enough for two single standard pie crusts)
Directions:
If you don't know how to prep fresh pumpkin, here's some
instructions.
Add eggs and sugar to a mixing bowl and mix until well blended. Stir in the pumpkin, butter, salt and spices. Add evaporated milk and mix well. Bake the filling in a large casserole dish that has been buttered or sprayed with pam. Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees and continue baking for 45 minutes or until your fork comes out clean. Let the filling cool completely.
Make or purchase pie crust pastry. Roll pastry thin and cut into circles about 4 inches in diameter. Put a spoonful of the pumpkin mixture towards one side of the center of the circle. Fold over the crust into a half-circle and firmly crimp the edges closed. Cut with a paring knife three small slits in the top for venting. Place on a greased cookie sheet.
Bake at 400 degrees only until crust is a light golden brown, around 10 minutes. Dust with cinnamon and serve at room temperature.
