Deep Dish Squash Pie

Today is (Canadian) Thanksgiving. This year I'm thankful for many things, some more than others. This time of year always makes me so reflective on my life and my childhood. Perhaps it's because the cycle of nature is taking certain things and closing up shop for the winter: leaves are changing colour, birds are preparing for flights south and plants offer up their yearly bounty to help see us through the long, harsh cold. I love everything about this time of year and this holiday is one of my favourites. (Photo shows the goods we've acquired R-L: a [very large] pumpkin, buttercup squash, acorn squash, and a cute little gourd I've named Herman.)

My father never liked squash and still won't eat it. My grandparents always grew it and they'd serve it with our holiday meal, but my dad never partook. It must've been something about orange vegetables as we never had cooked carrots as a child either. In any case, my grandmother always had pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving dessert. Oh, my dad did love pumpkin pie. But it was a well known secret for years that the pumpkin pie he was eating was actually made with buttercup squash. I thought the wool had been pulled over his eyes for years - eventually it slipped out but he already knew. And as I'm older now, and a tad more experienced in the kitchen, I realise that squash and pumpkin aren't that far off in texture and flavour - and if you go to my husband's part of the world, they're all called pumpkin anyway.

That being said, he's never had one done up in a pie. Understandably though, as Thanksgiving isn't a recognised Australian holiday, and the date does fall into the warmer season. But he's only ever had pumpkin or squash in savoury dishes. This was the first time he had squash pie and he did like it (coming from the man who doesn't like sweets).

This particular pie is less dense than those of my mother & grandmother, but it still slices cleanly and has a delicately sweet flavour. I used an entire buttercup squash (in the picture at top) and it was just enough. Using a deep dish pie plate, the filling came about a centimetre below the rim of the pie, but fluffed up and filled it in perfectly while baking.

Deep Dish Squash Pie

1-9" pie shell
1-2lb squash (buttercup or butternut)
3 Tbsp melted butter
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup whole milk
3/4 cup light brown sugar
3 Tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp cardamom
2 large eggs

Prepare pie shell & keep refrigerated until required. Peel & steam squash until tender. Remove from heat and mash in bowl. Preheat oven to 350°F. On low setting of mixer, add evaporated milk, whole milk, butter, sugar & maple syrup. Add salt & spices, mix well. Add eggs, one at a time, being careful to ensure they are thoroughly incorporated. Pour mixture into prepared pie shell. Bake 40-55 minutes, or until set when toothpick inserted comes out clean.