What pie did they serve at the first Thanksgiving? And why didn’t they use any spices? Sohla aims to find out, as she bakes two pumpkin pie recipes from 1600s.
THE RECIPES
Crusts for both pies:
– 2 large eggs
– 2 tablespoons (28 grams) white vinegar
– 10 tablespoons (140 grams) ice water
– 6 cups (750 grams) all purpose flour
– 2 teaspoons kosher salt
– 2 ½ cups (575 grams) cold unsalted cultured butter, cut into ½-inch cubes
1. In a small bowl, whisk together eggs, vinegar, and water.
2. Whisk together the flour and salt. Add butter and mix with hands, forks or butter knives until crumbly. Add egg mixture & mix together until just combined.
3. Divide dough into two pieces. On a lightly floured surface, working with one piece of dough at a time, roll out to ⅛-inch thick and line a 9-inch cast iron pie plate.
4. Trim edges to leave 1-inch overhang and crimp edges. Repeat with second piece of dough and chill each of them.
1651 French Pumpkin Pie (from The French Cook):
– 3 cups peeled sugar pumpkin, cut into 1-inch pieces
– Whole milk
– ½ cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
– ¼ cup (56 grams) unsalted cultured butter, melted
– ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
1. In a medium saucepan, add cubed pumpkin and enough milk to almost cover. Cover with a lid, and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until totally tender.
2. Push the mixture through a colander to sift out the large pieces.
3. Mix in the sugar, butter & salt.
4. Pour filling into chilled crust and bake at 400F until the crust is browned and the filling is set. (About 40 minutes.)
1670 English Pumpkin Pie (from The Queen-Like Closet):
– One 4-pound sugar pumpkin
– 3 large eggs
– 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
– 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh sage
– 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh thyme
– Neutral oil for frying
– ⅓ cup dried currants
– ⅓ cup dried raisins
– ½ cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
– ¼ cup dry sherry
– 2 small Rhode Island Greenie apples
– 2 tablespoons unsalted cultured butter, cut into thin slices
1. Halve, gut, and peel the pumpkin. Cut the pumpkin into ⅛-inch thin slices.
2. Whisk together the eggs, rosemary, sage, and thyme.
3. In a medium cast iron skillet over medium-high heat, heat 1-inch of neutral oil until 350F. Add a drop of the egg mixture to test if the oil is hot enough.
4. Dip the pumpkin slices in the egg & herb mixture. Fry until tender. Add the fried pumpkin to a large bowl.
5. Add in the currants, raisins, sugar, and sherry. Toss to combine.
6. Thinly slice apples and line the bottom of the chilled pie crust with the apple slices. Top with pumpkin mixture.
7. Bake at 400F until the crust is golden and the filling is bubbly.
8. While the pie is still hot, add the butter slices so it melts into the pie.
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Ancient Recipes with Sohla takes the food you know and love and traces it back to its origins. In each episode, Sohla El-Waylly details the surprising history of some of our favorite dishes as she attempts to recreate the original version using historical cooking techniques and ingredients. Along the way, Sohla highlights the differences between the ancient recipe and how we would prepare the modern version today.
http://histv.co/ancientrecipes
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