Paleo Sweet Potato Meringue Pie

I get really annoyed by people who don't "know how" to cook. Like, it's not even hard! Seriously! The hardest part about cooking is probably having the right equipment or making sure you didn't forget to pick up the one ingredient that's crucial to making the whole recipe work, but that's it! Do you have an oven? Do you have a bowl? How about a knife? Okay, great--you can cook!!

I think people who don't "know" how to cook simply don't care about cooking. And that's totally different. THAT, I can get behind. I mean, listen, I don't know anything about football, but that's not because it's hard to understand, that's because I literally do not care about learning how football works. Like, if you really want to learn how to roast a chicken without burning it, you will eventually figure it out. And if you want to learn how to make the perfect pie crust, then just follow Martha Stewart's instructions. And if you really want to make the cooking experience simple, just make the Paleo version of it.

I'm always the first to say that if you want to adopt a Paleo lifestyle, you have to enjoy cooking, but that's not to say you have to be a good cook. In fact, Paleo cooking is great for people just like you! Why? Because cooking allows for so much more room for error than baking. And despite the fact that you might use an oven to "bake" things, like this, this, and this, the chemistry that goes into baking glutenous treats (which is typically where most novice cooks struggle) is non-existent in Paleo baking.

Which is all just a really long way of saying, this sweet potato meringue pie is super easy to make. Just make sure you don't forget to buy, ya know, the sweet potatoes or whatever.

Now that fall is setting in, sweet potato pie just felt like the right thing to do.

I've never made sweet potato pie before--we were more of a pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving family (though that's not to say we didn't enjoy sweet potatoes in other forms)--but since Paleo baking is easy, I decided to give a try, and it was a worthy experiment. Worthy of my mouth, that is!

I also tried out a new pie crust recipe (arrowroot and coconut flour give it a very authentic texture), and it's a keeper!

So, if you think you just don't KNOW how to cook, go ahead and give this recipe a try--you'll love it. And if you just don't LIKE/WANT to cook, make friends with someone who will make this for you. And then buy them a thank you gift, you leach!

Paleo Sweet Potato Meringue Pie

For the crust

• 1 1/2 cups coconut flour
• 1/2 cup arrowroot flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 8 TBSP/1 stick of very cold grass-fed butter, cubed into small pieces
• 1/2 - 1 cup ice cold water

For the filling

• 4 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 2 TBSP coconut oil
• 2 eggs and 1 egg yolk
• 1 TBSP orange zest
• juice of half an orange
• 1/2 cup pure maple syrup (maybe more if you want it sweeter--try it and figure it out)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

For the meringue

• 3 egg whites, room temp
• 3-4 TBSP raw honey

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. In a food processor, pulse coconut and arrowroot flours and salt until well incorporated, about 10 seconds. Add the cold butter (this important--don't fuck it up with room temperature butter) to the flour and pulse until the flour becomes crumbly, about 45 seconds.

3. While food processor is running, add ice cold water (don't fuck this one up either), in a slow steady stream. Add enough for the flour to start to bind together. It may not come together in the food processor, so I ended up dumping this in a bowl after adding about 1/2 cup of water and continued to incorporate the water with my hands. Ultimately, you're just trying to make the dough come together, but it will be crumbly. Test by pressing the dough together in your hand to see if it stays together. If not, add more water. Work quickly! 

4. Once dough can come together, dump it onto a big sheet of plastic wrap and form into a ball, then wrap and place in the fridge for about 30 minutes.

5. Steam sweet potatoes for about 30 minutes, or until they're fork tender.

6. Allow sweet potatoes to cool slightly, then toss sweet potatoes in a large bowl. Using a hand mixer (or blender/food processor/fork, whatever), puree sweet potatoes with coconut oil and eggs. Once combined, add zest, orange juice, maple syrup, spices, and vanilla. Taste here and decide if you want it sweeter.

7. Remove chilled pie crust from fridge and press into a pie plate (this is easier than rolling it out, just be careful about making it even across the pie plate).

8. Using a fork, poke holes on the bottom and sides of the crust, then place in oven for about 10 minutes.

9. Remove crust from oven, then dump filling into the pie shell. Place back in the oven for about 50-60 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean.

10. Cool for about an hour. 

11. Make meringue by beating egg whites with a hand mixer until glossy peaks form. Then, add honey and continue to beat until well incorporated.

12. Dallop meringue all over pie--use a spatula or fork or something to make peaks.

13. Place pie back in the oven and turn on your broiler. Broil for about 1-2 minutes, or until meringue is golden. Allow to cool for another hour before serving.

Bacon Quiche with Paleo Almond Flour Crust

I don't care how gauche it might be, but I love quiche y'all. I mean, right? It's an omelet and a pie, all in one. I remember my mom making it as a kid and thinking how grown up I was to be eating something as sophisticated as quiche. 

"Bring me my operrrrrrrrrra gloves and monocle! I'm eating quiche, and I'm fancy!!!" I used to exclaim, pink pointed directly toward the sky.

This weekend, I was feeling that fancy feeling and decided that dammit, Kyle and I were going to have quiche! And it was going to have a crust. AND it was going to be paleo.

But, it wasn't going to be as fancy as the Quiche Lorraine's my mom used to make. It was going to be slightly less dignified, filled with the Lindsay Lohan of meat: bacon, which we all know is the least dignified, yet most indulgent animal protein on the planet.

Of course, all the usual suspects also made appearances: onion, mushrooms, spinach, swiss cheese, and eggs. But the surprise guest of the night was almond flour, making its debut as "crust." 

And what a crust it was! Flaky and tender, it was not merely an acceptable substitute for a flour crust, but there's probably no reason to ever make any other crust again.

Of course, if this filling doesn't strike your fancy (a-ha!), you can always switch up the mix-ins.

Bacon Quiche with Paleo Almond Flour Crust
Makes 8 servings

For the crust

• 1 1/2 cups almond flour
• 1 egg
• 1 egg white

For the filling

• 7 eggs
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 6 pieces of  nitrate-free bacon
• 1 small onion, thinly sliced
• 1 cup sliced mushrooms
• 1 cup fresh spinach
• 3/4 cup shredded swiss
• salt and pepper

1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F. 
2. In a medium sized bowl, combine almond flour, egg, and egg white until "dough" starts to come together. Press dough into a pie pan, using the palm of your hand to reach desired thickness. Poke crust with a fork to avoid bubbles.
3. Bake crust for about 15-20 minutes, or until lightly golden brown.
4. While crust bakes, fry bacon in a pan until crispy. Crumble and then set aside.
5. In the same pan, saute onions and mushrooms until onions are translucent. Add spinach and cook down slightly.
6. In a large bowl, whisk eggs and coconut milk. Add bacon, onion, mushrooms, spinach, and swiss. Season with salt and pepper.
7. Pour egg mixture into pre-baked pie shell. Bake for about 25-30 minutes, or until center is just slightly set. You want it to be slightly jiggly, but not loose.
8. Allow to cool for about 15 minutes. Serve warm.