My favorite candied pumpkin & caramelized onion pie

That pie is one of my favorite I have made so far, it’s a unique combination of slow cooked onions and pumpkin contrasted with crunchy crust. It’s the perfect healthy dish that will make everyone happy at home.

I get most of my inspirations in cooking by wandering at the grocery store or at the farmers market. There’s always a sale, a beautiful vegetable, or a rad farmer that will bring you the idea of what you’re going to cook for dinner. My recipes aren’t written, they are not from a piece of paper; I first need to feel my « subject » because food is instinctive. Everyday becomes an excuse to taste news combinations. Some are tastier than others and I share my favorite ones here with you.

Last week, I had some pumpkin that was about to turn bad (it was actually already pretty rotten :D) and 2 kg (4 pounds) of onions from the farmers market. It’s an association thats works well, they are mild and have a melting texture when cooked.

To get rid of the combo soup, bread and cheese I decided to make a fall savory pie with a hint of mustard on the bottom to bring some punch.

This recipe is easy but you will need a little while to prepare it: Chopping the onions, cooking the veggies and the oven cooking time are long. And it’s the long oven time that will make the perfect candied and caramelized texture to your plate.

Anyway, this pie is so tasty that it’s totally worth waiting and you can keep the left overs for your lunchbox at work.

Ingredients

1,2 kg – 2,7 pounds onions, peeled and sliced

4 branches of thyme

a few leaves of verdana (optional)

3 tbsp real mustard (the real one, the american version will be to mild to this recipe)

1 hand of Gouda cheese or cheddar (optional)

White wine to deglaze

1,5 tbsp unrefined sugar (to caramelize)

salt

pepper

600 gr – 1,3 lb Butternut

a hint of nutmeg

1 short pastry dough

olive oil

Directions

1. In a large pan, add a dash of olive oil and infuse the thyme and the verdana leaves for 30 secondes. Add the all the onions, salt and pepper and cook for 5 minutes on high heat, deglaze with the white wine and low the heat to medium-high and cook covered for another 15-20 minutes, then add the sugar. uncover and cook for another 5 minutes. The onions are ready when they are transparent and tender.

2. While the onions are cooking, cook the pumpkin with a hint of nutmeg and salt. Cook until the onions are ready. Preheat the oven at 355°F – 180°C

3. Spread the dough in a pie mold and prick it with a fork. Spread the mustard than add the sliced cheese all over. Add all the pumpkin as a first layer and finish with the onions on top.

4. Load the pie in the oven and cook for 1h20 minutes. It’s a lot but the pumpkin is really wet, it needs a while for the water to evaporate which is a good thing, the ingredients candied slowly and perfectly. After 1h20 minutes, There will still be a bit of water in the pie, no worries, the preparation will rigidify as it gets cooler.

5. In France, savory pies are mostly eaten cold and served with a green leaves salad.

6. Enjoy 🙂