PrintRaw Pecan Pie
When it comes to looking good, 1980s supermodel Carol Alt probably has a genetic advantage on most of us, but she attributes her age-defying beauty to the raw-food diet she's been keeping for years.
Raw foodism is a diet based on food that is unprocessed and not cooked above a temperature of 116°F. Supporters of this diet say that this keeps food enzymes, which aid in the digestion and absorption of food, intact. Other benefits may include general detoxification, clearer skin, and more energy.
It can be a tough lifestyle to adhere to if eating delicious foods aside from salads is a priority, but there are a few cookbooks out there to help expand your raw-food horizons. Alt wrote The Raw 50 to answer the need for recipes that turn raw ingredients into real food. Having tried a few recipes for the novelty of it, I can attest that she crafts dishes that are full of flavor and have a variety of pleasing textures, from creamy to crunchy.
Alt's recipe for pecan pie results in a sweet treat that can serve as an introduction to the raw experience and as a healthy, guilt-free end to an otherwise gluttonous Thanksgiving dinner. I was surprised by how tasty, rich, and dense it actually was. Shock your in-laws or impress your vegan friends this Thanksgiving by bringing a raw dessert.
Raw Pecan Pie
- makes 20 to 24 squares -
Ingredients
2 cups raw almonds, germinated
35 pitted dates, soaked for 1 hour and drained
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups raw pecans, germinated
Cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil, to grease your pan
Procedure
1. Combine the almonds and 10 of the dates in a food processor, and process until they are coarsely ground and clumping together. Grease the bottom of a 9-inch square brownie pan or a pie plate with a little cold-pressed olive oil to keep the pie from sticking to the plate. Press the almond-and-date mixture evenly into the bottom of brownie pan and up the sides to form a crust. Set aside.
2. Combine the remaining dates, the fresh lime juice, cinnamon, salt, and vanilla in a blender or small food processor, and process until the mixture has a smooth, uniform consistency. Spread the date filling evenly over the crust. Arrange the raw pecans on top of the date mixture and press lightly. Cut the pie into 2-inch squares and serve.
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9 Comments:
okay, maybe i am stupid, but how does one germinate pecans and almonds?
carriebwc at 1:44PM on 11/05/07
Carrie, I was going to ask the same question. I went a-googling and discovered that people with pet monkeys should feed them germinated nuts. Your Monkey's Diet and Health. Now you just have to figure out where to buy raw nuts!
Library Lady at 1:50PM on 11/05/07
Here's an explanation for humans: http://www.avenaoriginals.com/library/recipe_display.asp?a=Soaking_Nuts_and_Seeds. Apparently, raw food enthusiasts believe you should soak your nuts to rid them of enzyme inhibitors, a process they call germinating.
Natural foods grocers and supermarkets such as Whole Foods & Trader Joe's sell raw nuts, not just online businesses.
Eliz. at 1:57PM on 11/05/07
i was really only asking out of curiousity. if placed in front of me i would try this, and it might well be delicious, but there is zero chance that i would substitute my usual pecan pie made with plenty of karo syrup and chocolate chips for something made out of blended dates and soaked nuts. i am not knocking it, to each his own and all, but it is definitely not my style.
carriebwc at 2:36PM on 11/05/07
Whenever I hear about "raw food" diets, I always think of this sad story: when I was in college, a friend's housemate ate only raw food. She had a baby with a man who was also a raw foodie, and naturally, they fed their child only raw food. Tragically, the baby died a few months later - unsurprisingly, from malnutrition. Cooking food breaks down large molecules into easier to digest forms, especially for young digestive systems. Any claims made by raw food proponents that raw food is easier to digest seem very dubious to me.
That being said, that pie does sound pretty tasty (as part of balanced diet, of course).
rheogs at 2:42PM on 11/05/07
two examples of how wrong this belief is. everyone know what happens when you eat raw corn (not a lot of nutritional uptake there). However, if you cook the corn with some lime then you now have food that will sustain you. as far as the enzme belief, that is also incorrect. in order for the enzymes of malted barley (a germinated seed that is then dried) to start changing the starches into sugars, which are digestible, they need to be heated up to around 150 degrees. lucky for us this makes it digestible for yeast, too and we get beer.
tenpointfarmer at 3:05PM on 11/05/07
The recipe isn't raw. Vanilla extract is vanilla pods soaked in alcohol, which is a distilled product involving heat.
OneEyedMan at 4:28PM on 11/05/07
Carol Alt isn't a raw-food vegan (she eats raw meat, such as sashimi, and raw eggs, and she also says she eats pan-seared meat occasionally). So the vanilla extract isn't surprising. All in all, sounds like an interesting recipe to try.
stumbler02 at 5:50PM on 11/06/07
One of the things I find interesting - and appealing - from some of the published raw food voices I've read is the acknowledgement that adopting a strict raw diet may not be realistic or desirable for everyone. Doing what feels good and sharing what feels good is a bigger priority for Alt and the authors of Raw Food/Real World than getting converts is, and as Stumbler noted, both Alt and (Sarma Melngailis, author of Raw Food) openly admit to eating a variety of cooked and non-vegan foods on occassion. I like the idea of options and experimenting with food, and believe in a balance of bacon, beet juice and seitan. I really did like this pie, although I'm looking forward to the sticky, corn syrup-laden pecan job mom makes for Thanksgiving, as well.
And a note from experience - germinating nuts (soaking them) makes them tangibly easier to digest, less bloat-inducing for people used to a more processed diet.
Jenn Smith at 3:25PM on 11/07/07