No Thanksgiving dinner is complete without pumpkin pie. But if you want to stand out from the crowd, this recipe for a savory version will make an exciting impression. One of the things that makes this dish so special is its use of berbere spices, a delicious mix of spices often found in Ethiopian cuisine. Rather than ending the meal with the classic sweet version, try this pumpkin pie as part of the main course and watch each family member beg for the last piece.

 

Recipe serve 6 to 8 people
Preparation time: 15 minutes plus 60 minutes in the oven.

 

Ingredients for berbere spice mix

(once prepared, you can keep this in a closed jar)

• 2 tsp ground cumin
• ½ tsp turmeric
• ½ tsp cardamom powder
• ½ tsp ground cloves
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground fenugreek
• ½ tsp ground cayenne pepper
• ½ tsp ground coriander seeds
• 1 tsp dried chili pepper flakes
• 1 tsp ginger powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 4 tbs paprika powder
  
  

Ingredients for the quiche

• Large roll of puff pastry to cover a cake pan with around a 24 cm circumference.
• 4 tbs mild olive oil
• 1 large red onion, diced
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely sliced
• 3 tbs ginger, finely chopped
• 400 g peeled potatoes, cut into blocks of about 1.5 cm
• 550 g of pumpkin, peeled and also cut into block of about 1.5 cm
• 2 tbs berbere spices
• 1 tsp salt

Ingredients for the egg mix

• 6 eggs
• 100 ml cream
• 200 g grated cheese
• 1 tsp salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

1. First prepare the spice mix.
2. Line the cake pan with puff pastry
3. Heat the olive oil in a pan and cook the onions until they are translucent, around 5 minutes.
4. Add the blocks of potato and pumpkin, mix it vigorously on high heat, then turn the heat down, add the berbere spices and stir for around 5 minutes until all the flavours are well-mixed.
5. Put the vegetables in the puff pastry-covered pan, then blend the egg mix with a hand blender. Pour this evenly over the vegetables.
6. Bake the quiche for 60 minutes until done.