Chocolate-Pecan Pudding Pie with Nut Crust

Yield: 8-10 Servings

Soundtrack: "When I Lay My Burden Down" by Bessemer Sunset Four from Bessemer Sunset Four (1928-1930)

Ma'Dear, my maternal grandmother, worked her backyard garden with pure passion. It wasn't very large—probably the size of a built-in swimming pool—but it produced enough food for her to feed herself, Granddaddy and the four grandchildren she cared for during the summers. Ma'Dear made sure that she had enough food from April to November and plenty to preserve and freeze for the winter. Stored in the kitchen, she kept a cupboard about 7 feet tall and a foot deep, each shelf crowded with glass jars full of preserves: pickled pears, peaches, green tomatoes, carrots and green beans; apples and figs, sauerkraut, and blackberry jam; and her not-to-be-forgotten Chow Chow—cabbage, peppers, green tomatoes and onions finely chopped, cooked for five hours and served with leafy greens such as collards, mustards or turnips.

Upon entering her house, you knew Ma'Dear was cooking, even if you didn't smell it because you'd hear singing:

Glory, glory, hallelujah.

When I lay my burden down.

No more Monday.

No more Tuesday.

When I lay my burden down.

Ma'Dear would hum gospel songs and spirituals while rhythmically tapping her feet, sending music vibrating throughout the rooms of her house. When she rolled out the dough for her fried pies and sang those lines, it was as if her love and spirituality were two more ingredients she added, along with the flour, salt, lard and water.

Coming home from Memphis a few years ago, I stumbled on an immediately mouth-watering recipe for Chocolate Pecan Pie (in of all places the airport!). The recipe had the unhealthy trappings of many Southern dishes: lots of "bad" fat and highly processed sugars. But by the time I got home, I had figured out which health-supportive ingredients could be substituted for the less healthy ones. I decided to use maple syrup, for instance, instead of light corn syrup. In the end, the only resemblance that my pie had with the original one was chocolate and pecans.

Nut Crust

1 cup almonds

1 cup pecans

1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour

Fine sea salt

1/2 cup dry unsweetened coconut

8 large dates, pitted and chopped

1/4 cup coconut oil

Filling

3/4 cup rice milk

1/4 cup arrowroot

1/2 banana

3/4 cup organic chocolate chips

1/2 cup maple syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup melted coconut oil

1 1/4 cups pecans, chopped

1/2 cup dry unsweetened coconut

Mint leaves, for garnish

For the Crust

· Preheat oven to 325°F.

· Combine the almonds, pecans, flour and 1/8 teaspoon salt in a food processor with a fitted metal blade, and grind to a fine meal. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and add the coconut. Add the dates and coconut oil to the food processor, and mix until the dates form into a gooey mass, about 1 minute. Add the dry ingredients back into the food processor and process until all ingredients are mixed well and starts to form into dough.

· Transfer the dough to a 9-inch pie tin. With clean hands, knead for a minute or so to ensure that the oil is evenly distributed. Press the dough into the pan, making sure that the bottom, sides and rim are covered (The sides should be slightly thicker than the rest of the tin). With a fork, prick several holes into the bottom of the crust. Set aside.

For the Filling

· In a blender, combine the rice milk and arrowroot, and purée for 30 seconds. Add the banana and puree for 15 seconds. Set aside.

· In the top of a double boiler over simmering water, melt the chocolate chips. In a large bowl, immediately combine the melted chocolate chips with the rice milk/banana/arrowroot mixture, maple syrup, vanilla, coconut oil, pecans and coconut. Mix well. Scrape into the crust with a rubber spatula and spread evenly.

· Place the pie on a cookie sheet. Cover the crust with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes, until filling is firm.

· Remove from oven, cool for 30 minutes, then refrigerate for at least two hours before serving.

· Garnish each slice with a few mint leaves.

*Recipe excerpted from Grub: Ideas for an Urban Organic Kitchen

Bryant Terry is an Oakland-based eco chef and a Food and Society Policy Fellow with the W. K. Kellogg and Fair Food foundations. He is co-author of 'Grub: Ideas for an Urban Organic Kitchen.'