As the title said… this IS NOT a regular pumpkin pie recipe. I’m quite sure you’re familiar with the classic, round, decorated American pie.
I like to believe that Europeans are quite open-minded when it comes to pies; we have it in many shapes and forms. In Central and Eastern Europe, you’ll find rolled pies, in West round-pastry pies and in East (close to Turkey and Greece) you’ll find round, rolled pies. Crazy, isn’t it? And you know what’s the best part of all this? They are all delicious, no matter the ingredients and the shape.
But since I promised you a different type of pumpkin pie… I have to warn you: this pie is not as pretty looking as the American one.
So now you’ve been warned. BUT even it might look weird to you, trust me is delicious!
It’s actually my grandma’s recipe (because my Mum hates pumpkin smell and she doesn’t bake it). I remember being a kid and waiting for the pumpkin reason as it was Christmas. Because I knew I would get pumpkin pie. A lot of it. So now you understand why I couldn’t let this autumn pass without a pumpkin pie.
Servings: 12 | Prep. Time: 1.5 h | Waiting Time: 30 mins | Cook Time: 45 mins | Difficulty: Difficult
Ingredients:
- 2 kilos of pumpkin
- 5 -6 Tbl brown sugar
- 1 Tbl cinnamon
- 1/4 tbsp cloves (grounded)
- 6 Tbl vegetable oil
- Fillo sheets
Method:
- Chop and grate the pumpkin. Put in in a large bowl add the spices and mix everything well.
- In a large frying pan, add the vegetable oil and fry the pumpkin for a few minutes, until it becomes soft.
- Let the pumpkin cool for 10 minutes and add the sugar.
- On a large oven tray, lined with baking paper, lay 3 pie sheets. Add 2 to 3 big scoops of the pumpkin filling and spread it in an even layer.
- Lay two new pie sheets over and brush them with a little bit of vegetable oil before adding a new layer of filling.
- Repeat until you finish the pumpkin filling.
- Bake for 45 minutes at 175 degrees C.
I’m not sure if it’s easy to find fillo sheets where you live. They might also have a different name as well. They’re not pie crust! They’re really thin, see-through sheets of dought.
Anyway… let’s get baking!
Cut your pumpkin in half and scoop the pulp and seeds out.
Don’t get rid of the pumpkin seeds! Separate them from the pulp and lay them on a baking sheet, letting them dry out for a few days. After that, they are good to eat (you can also roast them if you want).
I’ll be honest, cutting and grating the pumpkin is the hardest part of this recipe.
You might be wondering why not adding the sugar now too. We’ll cook the pumpkin a little and by adding the sugar now will result in a very watery filling.
Cook the pumpkin for about 10 minutes. You know it’s ready when it reduced in volume, it’s soft and it got a little darker in colour.
Let it cool down for about 5 minutes and now you can add the sugar. As previously mentioned, adding the sugar at this stage is important because it won’t give you a watery pumpkin filling.
Mix everything together and let the filling sit for about 30 minutes, to chill. You don’t want the filling to be too hot because it can cook the really thin pie sheets and it will ruin the whole pie.
At this point, you can turn on your oven.
Related: Easy and Delicious Homemade Apple Tart
On a large oven tray, lined with baking paper, lay 3 pie sheets. I like to start with 3 for the base, but you can totally add more if you want more dough in your pie. Add 2 to 3 big scoops of the pumpkin filling and spread it in an even layer.
Lay two new pie sheets over and brush them with a little bit of vegetable oil before adding a new layer of filling.
Brushing the oil between each layer will help the filling stick batter to the dough.
You can add more sheets if you want. They are paper-thin, so if you’re here for the dough, feel free to add more.
Keep layering the pie until you finish the filling. Finish with one last round of pie sheets on top.
Bake it for about 45 minutes, or until it’s golden brown. Let it cool down before you cut it, otherwise, it will crumble since it’s so thin. You can cut it in squares, diamond shape, smaller or larger; just as you would like.
The result will be a thin pie with a lot of delicious pumpkin filling inside.
This pie won’t grow, won’t expand. It will stay the same as it was when you put it in the oven. Well… except that it’s baked, of course.
Baked, spiced pumpkin looks weird. It turns darker and because this pie does not grow, it might look ‘ugly’ to you. But please don’t hurt its feelings; it might not look as pretty as you expect, but cross my heart it’s tasty.
Let me know if I picked your interest with this pumpkin pie recipe. What different pies do you know?
32 comments
These look delicious! What an unique fall treat!
Think you might be referring to filo pastry – but yes, not your regular pie they look much better!
Yes, it’s Filo pastry, as Amanda mentioned them. I will edit the ingredients list. Thanks!
This is definitely NOT your regular pumpkin pie but who says it needs to be? This looks delicious and I love the fact that it’s outside the norm . . .
What a cool recipe! I love trying food from different countries!
I’m so intrigued! I’ve never heard of this, and it looks amazing!!
Ooooh this looks amazing! Definitely different from the pumpkin pies I’m used to seeing but it sounds like something that I would enjoy! I’m keen on giving this recipe a try for sure. 🙂
Christie’s Take on Life. xx
Holy moly! I’ve never seen anything like this but this looks so yummy!
Great recipe and perfect for the fall! looks easy and tasty, I will try it soon!
Wow, yum! Like a baklava but for pumpkin pie – what a great idea. Thanks for sharing.
Wow. That looks so interesting. I am thinking that it must be deliciously crunchy.
These look like the patties we have in my country but they contain meat and soy. This recipe sounds delicious. Its a must try on my list.
yum!!! This looks amazingggggg. Definitley want to try it out — i’m sure it has the entire house smelling like a fall heaven!
Oh, yes. EVERYTHING will smell like pumpkin when you bake this pie, haha.
YUM! These sound so cool! I have never heard of this version before, but I love that you use fresh pumpkin and grate it all up! That’s impressive!
Well, we don’t have canned pumpkin around here – or not that I’m aware of. We prepare pumpkin-everything only during this time of the year, since it’s in season.
Oh, and it was quite a pain to chop and grate it, but it was worth the effort.
YUMMM! perfect for the season! Going to try this out, so different from pies I make. thanks for sharing!
I still think it looks pretty tasty! Such a perfect fall treat!
It’s like pumpkin baklava! I’m bookmarking this one for sure for the upcoming holidays…
Oh cool, this is so neat. Love to learn different ways of making food and baking treats. This recipe is a great addition to my collection and is sure to be a hit with the family.
This looks great, going to try using Phyllo Dough (what I think you mean by pie sheets!)
Yes, that’s the one! I had no idea if they’re called differently or not. Thanks!
I can’t wait to try this! I love trying new foods, especially European foods. I hate making pie crust for traditional American Pie so this might just be right up my alley!
This looks so interesting. I love pumpkin pie (and pumpkin in general) so I definitely need to try this, haha! 🙂
These look really good! I never would have known that pumpkin pie looks different depending on where you live.
This looks delicious! Although I love traditional American pumpkin pie, I think this would be just as tasty!
I like it because you can take it to go. I wouldn’t care much about its looks as I do about the taste. I’m glad you shared the recipe.
I love pumpkin SO much. My favorite soup is pumpkin soup but I’ve never had it in dessert. Looks easy enough to try. Thanks!
I never had it as a soup, haha. I think pumpkin is too sweet to make soup out of it.
Hm, now that you mentioned it… it does look a little like a baklava. Never had pumpkin baklava though.
I’m a sucker for anything pumpkin flavored, especially pumpkin pie. I’m definitely going to try making this because more ways to enjoy pie? Yes please!
I love trying different variations of traditional American recipes. This sounds so interesting! I love pumpkin anything so I might need to give this a try!