Classic Pumpkin Pie

September is coming. Fall. Hana's second September. The maple tree in the backyard is beginning to show the first hints of gold at the edges of its leaves. The perilla is still producing but slower now, the plants sensing the shortening days. The garden knows what I know: summer does not last. The good things continue but they change form. The perilla gives way to root vegetables. The salads give way to stews. The grill gives way to the oven. The cycle is Korean and American and universal. The seasons turn. We turn with them.

I have been thinking about a second child more concretely. James and I talked again on Tuesday. We decided: we will start trying in November. Not urgently, not with the tracking-app intensity of the first pregnancy. Gently. With the confidence of two people who know they can make a person because they already made one, and the one is extraordinary, and the making of her was the hardest and best thing they've done.

Banchan Labs: fall recipes in development. The "Homecoming" collection is finalized: doenjang jjigae, kimchi bokkeumbap, japchae, and Jisoo's mandu (the first card with her name). The mandu recipe card has a small photo of Jisoo's hands on the back — the same hands that hang above my stove. The card says: "This recipe was developed by Jisoo, Stephanie's birth mother, in Busan, South Korea. Jisoo makes the best mandu in the world. Stephanie's pleats are improving." Jisoo approved the text. She laughed when she read it. She said, "Your pleats ARE improving." The card ships in September. Six thousand families will make Jisoo's mandu. The thread extends to six thousand kitchens. The thread holds.

The recipe this week is a transitional dish — a late-summer, early-fall soup called hobak-juk (pumpkin porridge), made with the last of the season's kabocha squash. Steamed until soft. Blended smooth. Cooked with glutinous rice flour until thick. Sweetened with a small amount of sugar. Served warm with toasted pine nuts. The porridge is golden and gentle and bridges the gap between summer's lightness and fall's weight. It is a soup for changing seasons. It is a soup for a woman who is thinking about a second child and a second chapter and the way seasons change and the changing is the growing. Everything is changing. Everything is growing. The porridge holds the change.

The story ends with porridge and begins with pie — because that is how seasons work, one warm thing giving way to another. I wanted something golden and spiced and deeply fall, something I could make on a Tuesday after James and I had our conversation about November and second chances and second children, something that smelled like the maple tree showing its edges. This Classic Pumpkin Pie is that thing: smooth where the summer was bright, weighted where the fall asks to be held. I made it the same week I approved Jisoo’s card. The kitchen smelled like cinnamon and something decided.

Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 55 min | Total Time: 1 hr 15 min | Servings: 8

Ingredients

1 unbaked 9-inch pie crust (homemade or store-bought)
1 can (15 oz) pure pumpkin puree
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions

Preheat. Preheat your oven to 425°F (220°C). Place the unbaked pie crust into a 9-inch pie pan and crimp the edges. Set aside.
Mix the filling. In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg until fully combined and fragrant.
Add the wet ingredients. Stir in the beaten eggs, evaporated milk, and vanilla extract. Whisk until the filling is smooth and uniform in color with no streaks.
Fill the crust. Pour the pumpkin filling into the prepared pie crust, filling it to just below the rim. Smooth the top with a spatula if needed.
Bake at high heat. Bake at 425°F for 15 minutes. This initial high heat helps set the crust and filling edges.
Reduce heat and finish. Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F (175°C) and continue baking for 40–45 minutes, until the filling is just set at the center (it will jiggle slightly but not slosh).
Cool completely. Remove the pie from the oven and let it cool on a wire rack for at least 2 hours before slicing. The filling will firm up fully as it cools.
Serve. Slice and serve at room temperature or chilled, with whipped cream if desired.

Nutrition (per serving)

Classic Pumpkin Pie — A Golden Bowl for the Turning Season