Pumpkin pie filling, without the pie or the eggs

The holidays are meant to be shared at the table, and this pudding lets you do that fully. It gives you the heart of pumpkin pie without the crust, the eggs, or the dairy. Dates do all the sweetening and the thickening, and a blender does the rest. It is a way to sit at the table with everyone, plate in hand, part of the meal instead of watching it happen.

Pumpkin is a source of vitamin A and beta-carotene, involved in immune and mucosal health, and it brings fiber that feeds a healthier gut community. The warm spices here, cinnamon, ginger, and mace standing in for nutmeg, keep the flavor reading like pumpkin pie while staying built entirely from ingredients this way of eating favors. Real food, doing quiet work, in something that tastes like the season.

Make it ahead and let it chill until it sets. When you spoon it into small dishes, take a moment with the deep orange of it before you eat. A little presence and gratitude at the table, even at a busy holiday, is part of how the food serves you.

Ingredients

• 14 oz pumpkin puree
• 14 oz coconut milk
• 18 dates
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon alcohol-free vanilla (or 1/4 teaspoon vanilla powder)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground mace (in place of nutmeg)
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Method

Add the pumpkin puree, coconut milk, dates, cinnamon, vanilla, ginger, mace, and salt to a blender. Blend until completely smooth. Soaking the dates in warm water for a few minutes first helps them break down if your blender is not powerful.

If you want it silky, strain the blended pudding to remove any date skins.

Portion into small dishes or ramekins and press a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the surface of each to keep a skin from forming. Chill for 2 to 4 hours, until set. Serve cold.

*Adapted from a-clean-plate*