Vegan Pecan Pie Tutorial Part 2: Pie Filling

Courtesy of Christina from Vegan Vanguard, here is a two part vegan pie tutorial.

Christina’s Perfect Vegan Pecan Pie

Yield: One 9-inch pie

Baking time: 50-65 minutes

1 9-inch organic partially baked pie crust
1/4 cup organic unsweetened soymilk
½ cup organic silken or soft tofu
3/4 cup organic steamed or nishimi-style cooked Kabocha (HokaiddoPumpkin) squash
4 teaspoons organic safflower oil
1 ½ cups organic rice syrup, Lundberg Farms Organic recommended
1 pinch of sea salt, SI brand recommended
1 teaspoon organic vanilla extract, optional
1 cup organic pecans toasted and finely chopped, plus
1-1 ½ cups organic whole toasted pecans for topping

1. Preheat oven to 350º.

2. Blend soymilk, tofu and squash until smooth using an immersion blender.

3. Boil safflower oil, rice syrup, and sea salt on medium heat until foamy (about 3-5 minutes).

4. Reserve 1/3 cup of rice syrup mixture.

5. Blend rice syrup mixture and squash mixture together.

6. Add chopped pecans and stir to incorporate.

7. Pour mixture into prepared, baked pie crust.

8. Arrange whole pecans on top of pie.



9. Gently use reserved rice syrup to glaze the pecans.

10. Bake pie for 55-65 minutes, until top is bubbly and pie is very aromatic.


11. Let pie cool thoroughly, about two hours or overnight. Enjoy!


Notes:

Kabocha squash is really the best squash for this recipe since it is sweet and slightly dry but super creamy. I buy organic kabochas, seed and cut off any woody parts of the skin, but leave green skin on for the gorgeous color contrast. The skin melts in your mouth. If you are unable to find kabocha, you can substitute butternut or acorn, but please try kabochas the next time you find them, they are unbelievably good when simply steamed with a pinch of sea salt.

Traditional pecan pies are mostly eggs and dark karo syrup. In my adaptation, I've cut the amount of syrup down a bit, and taken out the eggs altogether. I always found pecan pie to be a bit too sweet for me. The squash and soy make up for the egg's absence and add a creamy richness. If you'll notice in the pictures, the glazing step makes all the difference in making this pie look like a pecan pie, and it also adds a nice crunch to the pecans.