Rachel Carr opened Six Main last June after moving to Connecticut from Los Angeles where she was chef at two highly acclaimed raw food and vegan restaurants. In the kitchen at Six Main, Carr continues to center her menu around fresh, locally grown fruits and vegetables – both in cooked and raw form - but has added cheese and eggs to some dishes.
From her own experience, Carr knows that those who follow a raw vegan diet can sometimes feel left out at the holidays and crave certain traditional dishes. When she wanted to add a dish from her kitchen to her family’s table, she decided to translate the classic pumpkin pie into a raw vegan dessert. “No one can tell the difference,” she says.
PUMPKIN PIE
Crust:
2 cups walnuts
6 dried dates
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Filling:
1 cup coconut meat
2 cups cashews
1-1/2 cups peeled and chopped raw pumpkin
1 cup coconut oil
1 cup agave
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons nutritional yeast
2 tablespoons soy lecithin
1-1/2 teaspoons sea salt
3-1/2 tablespoons pumpkin pie spice
To make the crust: In a food processor, grind nuts until finely chopped, but not creamy. Pit and chop the dates into bite-size pieces. Add the dates, salt and cinnamon to the nuts in the food processor. Sprinkle a few tablespoons of filtered water onto the mixture and process until the crust begins to stick together but is still slightly crumbly. Add a little bit more water if the crust is too crumbly, but not too much or it will be too creamy and wet. Press crust into an 8-inch springform pan. Set aside.
To make the filling: Put all ingredients into a blender, and blend until smooth. Pour filling into the crust in the springform pan. Refrigerate for 6 hours or until the filling has set.
