Vegan White Yam Pie

I came into some beautiful White Yams this week. (thank you Fair Foods) If you can find these delicious tubers you need to try them. They are in the same family as a sweet potato but their flesh is a very pale creamy white. They taste comparable, maybe a bit more sugary than a traditional sweet potato. You can use sweet potatoes interchangeably in this recipe.
My favorite part of this recipe is the gluten-free, vegan crust. Eating vegan has been great for me except for the baking. I know a lot about baking with white flour, butter and eggs, but NOTHING about vegan baking. This was my first successful vegan pie crust, and I liked it a lot.

Vegan, Gluten-free Pie Crust

1/2 cup almonds (pecans or walnuts would also work well)
1 1/4 cup oats
6 dates
2 tbsp oil
1 tbsp cashew butter (you can use almond or peanut butter also)
3 tbsp water

1. In a food  processor pulse nuts until they are a fine meal. Add the oats until they are incorporated into the meal.

2. Add dates, oil and cashew butter and pulse until combined but dry.

3. Add the water and pulse two times.

4. Pour it into your pie plate and press into the bottom. Tip: if you mound it in the middle of your pie plate and keep pressing in from the middle it will evenly spread up the sides. Refrigerate to set while you prepare the filling.

Vegan White Yam Pie

2 large white yams
3/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp corn starch
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp allspice
dash of salt
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup almond milk

1. Prick holes in your yams and either bake at 400 degrees for an hour, or microwave. (when microwaving do about 4 min on each side until the potato is soft)

2. Combine sugar, corn starch, spices, & salt in a small bowl.

3. Scoop the flesh out of the potato into a food processor. Pulse until mashed, scrape down the sides as you go. Add the dry ingredients and pulse to incorporate. Gradually add the vanilla and almond milk until smooth.

4. Pour into your prepared pie crust and bake at 35 for 50-55 minutes.