For me, this season is all about pecans. I grew up on my grandmother’s farm and she had an orchard of pecan trees. Autumn meant rides with my grandfather on a beat-up old tractor, equipped with a special gadget that would shake the nuts off of the trees. Those days and my grandfather are long gone, but my grandmother’s pecan pies were and still are the best. There wasn’t any maple syrup around when I was little, so this is an adult-me adaptation of that recipe. Serve warm or at room temp, with some unsweetened cream, or a scoop of good-quality vanilla ice cream.
www.oogachaka.co.uk
www.maghreblondon.co.uk
- Place flour into a food processor with the butter and salt. Process in pulses until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the icing sugar then add the yolk and process only until the dough comes together. Add some of the ice-cold water if needed.
- Turn the dough out on to a floured work surface. Using a rolling pin, form a large disc and line a 25cm loose-bottom pie/tart tin. Trim excess crust.
- Place in freezer for at least 30 minutes. Then line with baking parchment and fill with dried lentils/beans. Bake in a preheated oven at 170°C for 15 minutes. remove the baking parchment and beans and set aside. Leave the oven on.
- Coarsely chop the nuts.
- Whisk the melted butter, sugar, flour, and maple syrup until smooth. Add the eggs, whisk to combine, then add nuts, vanilla extract, spices and salt.
- Pour into the blind baked pastry base. If you want, gently place additional halves of pecan on top of the filling. Return to the oven to bake for an additional 45 minutes.
