Silky Sweet Potato Pie

Adapted from Clean Food by Terry Walters

Walters includes this pie in the vegetable section of her book - for first course! It makes a great breakfast too. This version is gluten and soy-free. The nutty crust gives it some protein, and so does the chickpea flour. The crust turned out good, but a bit dark, so I am wondering if it needs to be pre-cooked, or if I didn't cover the edges well enough. I like this pie better than pumpkin pie.

Crust:

1 and 1/2 cups pecans

1/4 cup chickpea flour

2 Tbsp. olive or avocado oil

2 Tbsp. maple syrup

Pinch of sea salt

Filling:

3 medium sweet potatoes, washed

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/4 cup rice milk

1 Tbsp. vanilla extract

1/4 tsp. sea salt

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1 Tbsp. arrowroot

1 tsp. agar powder

Bake the sweet potatoes on a cookie sheet at 350 degrees until soft (time will vary - about 1 hour to 1.5 hours).

Crust:

Chop pecans in a food processor until they resemble a fine meal. Add chickpea flour and process to combine. Add oil and syrup and salt and process until a dough forms. Press into a lightly greased 9-inch pie plate, prick several times and bake 12 minutes.

Filling:

Place cooked sweet potatoes (chopped into large pieces) and the filling ingredients in the food processor or a Vita-mix blender. Process until smooth.

Finishing:

Pour filling into pie crust, cover the pie edges with foil, and bake 50 minutes or until lightly browned.

Serve at room temperature or cold.