In my recent cooking screw-up confessions post, I mentioned the parve squash pie that I make for almost every holiday meal. Several of my family members LOVE this pie and one in particular likes it so much that I even bought her the Susie Fishbein Kosher by Design Entertains cookbook as a wedding present. The official name of the pie is Graham Cracker Crusted Squash Pie and it’s on page 226 of the Entertains cookbook.

I had to play around with the receipe a bit because I cannot find frozen pureed buternut squash that is Kosher in Dallas. When I called the local Kosher Certification organization to ask what to do, the Rabbi simply said, “why don’t you make the pureed squash yourself?” Hmm, why didn’t I think of that? So I Googled Pureed Butternut Squash and found several recipes. One would think I’d print out the recipe so I’d have it each time but that never happens, so I’m always doing another search every time I need squash. Here’s a similar recipe to the one I use to make Roasted Butternut Squash found on FoodNetwork.com by Robin Miller.

Ingredients

• 2 medium butternut squash, halved lengthwise and seeded.
• 4 teaspoons butter (I usually skip the butter step but you could use margarine or my new favorite, Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks).
• 4 teaspoons brown sugar (I also skip this step because the pie already has a lot of brown sugar in it).
• Salt and pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Place butternut squash halves on a large baking sheet flesh side up. (I add about an inch or water to the baking sheet so the squash is cooking in the water). Place 1 teaspoon butter in the middle of each squash. Sprinkle brown sugar over each squash. (as noted, I skip these 2 steps). Season with salt and black pepper. Roast 25 minutes, until flesh is fork-tender. Reserve 2 halves for future meal.

Once I’m finished baking, I scoop out the seeds and discard, I then scoop out the rest of the flesh. I use 12 ounces for the Squash Pie and freeze the rest in 8 to 12 ounce quantities to use for future pies or even to put a bit in my daughter’s Mac and Cheese. It’s the exact same color as the mac and cheese so she has no idea that she’s getting a bit of healthy vegetable mixed in with her cheesy dinner.

Next, here’s the details for the Squash Pie:

Graham Cracker Crusted Squash Pie

Squash Pie Ingredients:

If you have the Kosher by Design cookbook, it calls for making your own pie crust with graham cracker crumbs and melted margarine. I skip this step and use a pre-made 9″ Graham Cracker pie crust purchased at WalMart or my local grocery store. It saves me a step, plus if I use an 8″ crust instead, I can usually get two pies out of the deal.

1 (12-ounce) box pureed butternut squash, defrosted (Or make your own Butternut Roasted Squash above if you can’t find Kosher frozen squash)
4 large eggs
3/4 cup soy milk (parve)
1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt

Topping:

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
4 tablespoons chilled margainre, cut into small chunks (I used Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks, instead of margarine)

I’ll warn you that the pie does not look pretty and new-comers will be afraid to give it a try. I usually convince them to test a small bite by cutting about 1/4 off the end of a piece. They ALWAYS go back for the full piece and then some. Give it a try and let me know what you think?

Happy Kosher Treif Cooking