Raw pecan pie
Years ago I made a delicious baked pecan pie, but I decided to make a raw one instead that provided that satisfying ‘caramelly-pecan pie’ taste. The only time-consuming aspect of this pie is that the nuts need to be activated — if they are only raw, you don’t get the same crunch and flavour.
Makes: 12 pieces
Ingredients:
For the base
- 1 cup activated almonds
- 1 cup activated pecans
- 4 large Medjool dates, pitted
- ¼ teaspoon dried ginger
- pinch of salt
For the caramel sauce
- 2 cups dates, pitted and soaked in boiling water for 10 minutes
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla essence (vanilla extract)
- pinch of salt
- 2 teaspoons finely grated fresh ginger
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
For the topping
- ½ cup pecan halves
Method:
1. To make the base, combine the almonds, pecans, dates, ginger and salt in a food processor and blend until they are well combined but still slightly chunky. If you process them for too long, the nuts will become butter.
2. Press the mixture into a flat glass or metal pan (20 x 25 centimetres/8 x 10 inches), to make a layer about 1.5 centimetres (½ inch) high.
3. Place the dish in the freezer to harden while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
4. To make the caramel sauce, drain and squeeze any excess water out of the dates.
5. Transfer the dates to the food processor and add the vanilla, salt, grated ginger and lemon juice. (There is no need to wash the food processer, because it has just had very similar ingredients in it.) Process well, until you have a spreadable caramel sauce with no big date chunks present.
6. Remove the base mixture from the freezer and evenly spread the caramel sauce over the base.
7. Press the pecans into the caramel sauce.
8. Refrigerate the pie for 2 hours, until it has set.
9. Slice small pieces and serve as is, or with a small dollop of cashew nut cream. It is rather sweet, so a small piece is perfect.
Variation
For a citrus twist, add the finely chopped rind of 1 orange to the caramel sauce.
Extracted from Feed Your Brain: the Cookbookby Delia McCabe available from www.exislepublishing.com and wherever good books are sold. RRP $34.99. Image credit: Vanessa Russell.