Culinary Guides

This is our fall answer to the classic pot pie, with fresh pie pumpkin and ground pork standing in for the usual chicken, carrots, and peas. Between the pumpkin, sausage, onions, sage, and a dash of nutmeg, it is cozy cold weather food at its best, and even the crust comes together quickly. A handful of kale keeps it from feeling heavy.

Ingredients

For the crust

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for the work surface
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter
• 3 to 5 tablespoons ice water

For the egg wash

• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons cream or milk

For the filling

• 1 pound ground pork
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried sage
• Pinch of ground nutmeg
• Hefty pinch of salt and pepper
• 1 small bunch kale, tough stems discarded and coarsely chopped
• 1 medium-small sugar pie pumpkin, seeded and cut into 1/2 inch cubes (no need to peel), about 1 1/2 cups
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 cups low sodium chicken or pork stock

Directions

Make the crust

1. Cube the cold butter into 1/2 inch dice and pop it back in the freezer while you measure everything else.
2. Pulse the flour and salt in a food processor. Add the butter and pulse 12 to 16 times, until the mixture looks like coarse meal with a few pea size bits of butter.
3. With the machine running, drizzle in the ice water and pulse just until the dough clumps together. It should hold when pinched. Add a little more water if it is too dry, and do not overwork it.
4. Shape the dough into a disk, wrap it tightly, and chill until firm, about 45 minutes to 1 hour (overnight is fine).

Make the filling

1. Heat the oven to 375F (190C).
2. Brown the ground pork in a large deep cast iron pot over medium high heat, breaking it up as it cooks, until no longer pink. Lift it out onto a paper towel.
3. In the same pot, cook the onion with the sage, nutmeg, salt, and pepper, stirring, about 5 minutes until the onion softens.
4. Add the kale and pumpkin and cook until they start to soften, about 5 minutes.
5. Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and stir well.
6. Add the stock 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly. Bring to a boil, then reduce and simmer until the pumpkin is tender and the mixture thickens slightly, 8 to 10 minutes.
7. Stir the pork back in, then take the pot off the heat and let it settle for a few minutes.

Assemble and bake

1. Roll the chilled dough out to about 1/8 inch thick on a floured surface.
2. Lay the dough over the pot (or pour the filling into a pie pan first), fold the overhang in, and crimp the edges.
3. Cut a few steam vents, then brush the crust with the egg wash beaten with the cream or milk.
4. Set the pot on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until the crust is golden and the filling bubbles at the edges, 45 to 50 minutes.
5. Let the pot pie cool about 15 minutes so the filling sets, then serve.

The dough and filling can both be made a day ahead, then assembled and baked when you are ready to eat.

Grower's tip: for cooking, grow a small sugar pie pumpkin rather than a big carving type. The flesh is denser, sweeter, and far less stringy. Let the fruit ripen fully on the vine until the rind is hard, then cure it in a warm spot for a week or two so it stores for months and bakes down thick instead of watery.

This whole pie leans on the fall garden. Sow a hill of pie pumpkins, keep kale and onions going into the cool months, and tuck a little sage nearby for the seasoning.