Persimmon (or pumpkin) Pie Recipe

We have two large persimmon trees that usually produce bushels of fruit. The Fuyu type flat persimmons can be eaten when still firm, although they get sweeter when they are soft. The Hachiya type pointy persimmons, however, are astringent and can only be eaten when they are gushy soft. They are good dried, eaten fresh, in smoothies, and pureed. Excess fruit gets frozen whole–just put them on a cookie sheet in the freezer until frozen solid then store them in a gallon freezer bag. Frozen persimmons enable us to enjoy the fruit year round since they still make great tasting puree and smoothies and now this pie! The crust is gluten free and there is no added sweetener in the filling. Not into permissions? Substitute pureed pumpkin, winter squash or sweet potatoes and add honey to taste for a more traditional dish.

Crust Ingredients:

• 1 Cup Tigernut flour

  

• 1/2 Cup Green Banana flour
• 1 large egg
• 4 Tablespoons coconut oil

Crust Directions:

• Thoroughly mix the two kinds of flour
• Cream in the coconut oil
• Lightly beat the egg and mix it in
• Dump the crust into a 9 inch pie pan and pat it into an evenly thin crust
• Prick the crust with a fork
• Bake at 350 Fahrenheit for 15 minutes

Filling Ingredients:

• 2 Cups persimmon puree

  

• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 Cup full fat coconut milk
• 1 Teaspoon ground all spice
• 1/2 Teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/2 Teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 dash ground cloves

Directions:

• Remove the caps and center pith from enough very ripe Hachiya type persimmon to make 2 cups of puree
• Puree persimmons in a blender until just smooth to avoid incorporating a lot of air
• Add all the filling ingredients to a mixing bowl and whisk them together until smooth
• Pour the filling into the pre-baked pie crust and smooth the top with a spatula
• Bake at 350 Fahrenheit for 45 minutes or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean

  

  

Notes:

• You can substitute any pie crust of your choice. The Tigernut and green banana flour make a fine textured crust with a sweet flavor.
• You can substitute unsalted butter or ghee for the coconut oil in the crust.
• You can substitute cream or condensed milk for the coconut milk.
• Vary the spices to your taste; ginger and cinnamon would be good.