It’s pumpkin season…the perfect time of the year to make these mini pumpkin pies with porcini mushrooms.

Let’s make mini pumpkin pies with porcini using two staple ingredients in Italian cooking during Fall. October and November are full of seasonal food festivals in many regions, and the stars of those fairs are pumpkins, porcini, wild boar and chestnuts.  Porcini, wild boar and chestnuts are the main protagonists in Tuscany during Fall.  A lot of small mountain towns all over the region are well know for those three ingredients, and have a long history using them. Pumpkin is also a staple ingredient all over Italy when Autumn arrives.

So what better way to get the most out of both these seasonal ingredients than a pie?

Pumpkins and porcini are also very important for our health, due to the many benefits they can provide.

Pumpkin and porcini health benefits: boost your immune system!

Let’s learn more about the health benefits of both pumpkins and porcini mushrooms.

• PUMPKINS: as an “orange” vegetable, is full of carotenoids that are known to be able to boost our immune system, but can also help in stave cancer cells. Besides carotenoids, pumpkins are vitamins and iron, tryptophans that help sleep better, lots of fibers and also potassium to help in reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes, stroke and kidney stones. The vitamins in the pumpkin are also very helpful for our skin and have many anti-aging properties.
• PORCINI: porcini are also good allies for our health. They are very rich in fibers and so they acts ad prebiotic and allow for a strong diversity in our microbiome. In addition to the direct effect on the microbiome, studies have shown how mushrooms boost our immune system by increasing the production of antibodies such as IgA and IgG. Last but not least, mushrooms are packed with beta-glucans that helps our heart in staying healthy.

Foods like this can and should be enjoyed a lot, especially this time of the year when influenza and other cold or viruses are common.

Mini pumpkin pies with porcini: variations

These mini pumpkin pies are a great idea when you have guests. They will not only be pleasing to the palate, but also to the eyes.
However, you can easily turn it into a large pie to slice. If you cannot find porcini, you can use any other mushroom, oyster, shiitake and button mushroom work fine.

You can skip the porcini altogether and add some cheese, or you can use sweet potatoes instead of pumpkin. If you are a meat lover, you can add sausages or bacon to the mix.

Want to turn it into a vegan recipe?

Use extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil or extra virgin olive oil instead of butter. To spread it on the pastry a brush will help keep the oil layer uniform.
To make it gluten free, simply use your gluten free flour mix to make the pastry.

Loving porcini? check also my pici with porcini recipe!

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Mini pumpkin pies with porcini

Mini pumpkin pies full of flavors. This mini pies can be turned into a big pumpkin pie and you can easily turn it into a vegan and gluten free recipe.

Course Appetizer, Side Dish

Cuisine Italian

Keyword mini pumpkin pies, pumpkin and porcini, pumpkin pie

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour

Servings 6

Ingredients

• 70 gr of butter 50g for the dough, 20g more for the folds
• 120 gr of plain flour
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1 pinch of baking powder
• 200 gr of pumpkin or pumpkin purée
• 5 gr of dried porcini mushrooms 30gr if using fresh porcini
• rosemary and garlic
• salt and pepper
• extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

• 
Soak the dried porcini into lukewarm water for at least 30 minutes (overnight is ok). If you are using fresh skip the soaking.


Make the pastry

• Combine 50gr of butter with 100gr of flour, the baking powder and a pinch of salt in a bowl. Mix the ingredients until you get a crumbly dough. Add 4 tablespoon of water and keep kneading. The dough must be smooth and a little sticky. If it becomes too sticky, add the rest of the four. The dough must be very elastic and soft.
• Flatten the dough into a rectangle 1cm thick with a rolling pin, on a pastry board dusted with four. Spread the pastry evenly with half of the remaining butter. Fold the bottom third of the rectangle up toward the centre, aligning the edges. Then fold the top third down. Flatten again the dough and spread the rest of the butter. Fold again two times more. Let the dough sit in the fridge, covered with a plastic wrap until the filling is ready.

Make the filling

• Cut the pumpkin into 0,5cm cubes and stir fry it on a pan with a tablespoon of oil, a crushed garlic and some rosemary. When golden brown, add some water, salt and pepper and let it cook for about 10 minutes.
• If you are using pumpkin puree, mix it in a bowl with some dried garlic powder and dried rosemary.
• Cut the porcini into small pieces and add them to the pumpkin. Let it cook for five more minutes then, check the saltiness and turn off the heat.

Prepare the pies

• Pre-heat the oven to 200°C (390F).
• Flatten the pastry with a rolling pin and cut discs a little bigger than the holes of a muffin pan. Put the discs in the pan and fill them with the pumpkin and porcini mixture. Cut the remaining pastry into stripes to decorate the little basket.
• 
Bake the baskets at 200°C (390°F) for about 30 minutes. Serve warm or cold.