Guest Blog: What’s So Indie About Food? Rachel Rappaport – Sweet Potato Ginger Pie

One of my new guilty pleasures is the Coconut & Lime blog written by Rachel Rappaport. Rachel is a food writer and recipe creator extraordinaire and she has shared over 800 of her original recipes in a variety of cuisines. I first discovered Coconut & Lime on Twitter and I’ve been hooked ever since.  My friend Laura is going to make this Butternut Squash & Swiss Chard White Lasagne for me, right Laura? And, I’m going to make these Peppermint Patty Brownies for the holidays…I could go on and on.

That’s why, I’m so pleased Rachel agreed to share a couple of recipes with me and I’m so happy to be able to share them with you for What’s So Indie About Food?. The first recipe is for Sweet Potato Ginger Pie and I’m working out how I’m going to convince my grandma to make this for me….she is the ‘pie lady’.  This sounds just perfect with Thanksgiving coming up.  Rachel will be sharing another recipe later this year just in time for your winter holiday meal.

by guest contributor Rachel Rappaport of Coconut & Lime

Sweet Potato Ginger Pie

Ingredients:
3 sweet potatoes or yams, peeled, boiled and mashed
2 inch piece of ginger, peeled and grated
1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 egg, at room temperature
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

pecan halves for decoration

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375. In a large bowl, combine sweet potato, ginger, sugar, vanilla, brown sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, condensed milk and butter until will mixed. Taste for seasoning, adjust as needed. Stir in egg. Pour into the prepared pecan pastry pie crust (below). Smooth surface with the back of a spoon or spatula and decorate with pecan halves. Bake 20 minutes.

Pecan Pastry Pie Crust

Ingredients:
1 cup flour
1/2 cup crushed pecans
1/4 cup ice water
8 tablespoons butter, cold
4 tablespoons shortening, cold
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Place flour, sugar, salt and pecans in a food processor and pulse once or twice to mix. Add the butter and shortening and pulse until it forms pebble-sized clumps. Add the cold water and pulse until the mixture forms a ball. Remove to a pie pan, and spread, using your fingertips, evenly across the bottom and up the sides. The dough will feel more like a thick paste than pie dough. Prick the bottom thoroughly with a fork and bake for 10 minutes then check on the crust. Prick again if it is rising very high and continue to bake an additional 10 minutes.

Yield: one single crust

Thoughts:
This pie harnesses the natural sweetness of sweet potato and transforms it into a delectable dessert. The sweetness is tempered by the spice of the ginger, nutmeg and cinnamon. It is a wonderful alternative to pumpkin pie around the holidays and is very simple to make.