[Question] What method would be best to cook zucchini & fruit for a pie? - eviltoast

I had made a spread/mock jam, with rhubarb, blueberries, and zucchini, and it was damn good. So I’ve been trying to think of a decent method to utilize larger sizes and portions of zucchini to give a pie an apple pie like texture.

I’m guessing I wouldn’t want to cook the fruit & zucchini in the pie, and therefore would be best to cook the filling before hand. However, I’ve never made a pie that way, and am unsure if the zucchini would overcook (translation: become mushy) if I cooked it for a second time.

Note: I know I could look it up. Heck, I could just go to the store and read a can of blueberry filling to get an idea…I just feel it’d be more fun to ask here, 😉

  • AFK BRB Chocolate@lemmy.worldEnglish
    6·
    1 year ago

    I’ve never made a pie with zucchini, but my concern with cooking twice would be the moisture content more than the consistency. Water is going to start coming out and it would be your crust that would be mushy.

    You don’t need to pre-cook apples when you make apple pie, and they’re maybe slightly more firm, so I don’t think I’d do that with the zucchini. I’d peel them and then either dice them smallish or cut them into slices maybe a quarter inch thick. Whatever you did with the jam is probably going to work out in a pie shell, except you might consider how sweet it should be.

    I’m curious to hear how it comes out.

    • ChamelAjvalel@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
      3·
      1 year ago

      but my concern with cooking twice would be the moisture content more than the consistency.

      Ah! That’s something that escaped me. I’ll need to remember to add a little flour/cornstarch to the filling.

      I’d peel them and then either dice them smallish or cut them into slices maybe a quarter inch thick. Whatever you did with the jam is probably going to work out in a pie shell, except you might consider how sweet it should be.

      That’s how I sliced them for the jam. As for sweetness, that won’t be a problem. I’m not a heavy sugar eater, so a small amount will go a long ways, and I have a good eye for the amount I like.

      Hmm! The part I’m mostly wondering about would be the convection currents (I think convection is the correct term, 🤔 . Currents caused by heat). Would the 45-55 minutes in the oven yield enough currents to mix the flavors so the squash gets infused with the other flavors? (Zucchini can lose almost all its flavor in place of the fruit). I know cooking the fruit within the shell works with rhubarb and apple (A small tart green apple, tree 15 feet in height, that can be found somewhat wild here in Western Kansas) , rhubarb and grape, and rhubarb and blueberries…

      I think I’m just going to have to try it. Nothing attempted, nothing tempting.

      • ChamelAjvalel@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
        2·
        1 year ago

        Huh! I’ve found recipes for both types, but the precooked filling was all the ones using a pre-cooked crust, and all the others would be better described as a crustless quiche. However, the cooking timee for the latter were nermal cooking times for a pie. Still, though, diluting the zucchini with fruit flavor, is going to be the trick. I know it’s possible cooking and manually stirring it on the stove. Constrained within a pie shell?

        Again, I think I’m just going to have to try it.

        Alsn, I cut the outer skin off when turning zucchini into a fruit. Plus, I think a larger one might yield more flesh (as I cut out the seed and pulp from them). if I can remember it and am able to, I’ll document the process. (chronic pain sufferer, so I don’t exactly put a lot of effort into being presentable. Just existing is exhausting, Hah!).