A spiced custard pie made from the pale, green-striped cushaw — a large heirloom crookneck squash grown across the mountain South. The Appalachian answer to pumpkin pie, often richer and smoother.
Cushaws grew huge and kept all winter in the root cellars and on the porches of mountain homes. Black Appalachian gardeners grew this heirloom squash for generations, and the cushaw pie at Thanksgiving and Christmas was a mountain tradition distinct from — and older in places than — store-bought pumpkin.
Cushaw flesh is loaded with beta-carotene, which the body converts to vitamin A for eye and immune health, plus fiber, potassium, and vitamin C. As a winter-keeping squash, the cushaw fed mountain families nutrient-dense orange flesh deep into the cold season. Made into pie with restrained sweetener, it is essentially a vitamin-A-rich vegetable custard.
Cook and mash the cushaw flesh, then blend with egg, milk, sweetener, and warm spices and bake in a crust until set, like pumpkin pie. Cushaw's flesh is often less watery than pumpkin, giving a smoother, denser custard.
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