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So I have a plan to experiment with making a carrot pie. I can think of two approaches to this.
One would be to create a custard. Carrots aren't very starchy, so that may be a bit of a problem, but not one that some corn starch wouldn't solve.
The other is to make a fruit style pie "stew", maybe with raisins.
What direction would use the characteristics of carrots to their best advantage?
I can see this as being similar to a sweet potato pie. Best bet in that case would be to cook the carrots, then puree and mix with eggs, milk, etc. just as if it were a sweet potato or pumpkin pie.
Two alternatives that come to mind would be to treat it like a fruit pie, as you say. Because of the texture of the carrots, I would grate them with the large holes on a box grater, toss with sugar, raisins, some tapioca and whatever spices your heart leads you toward.
An alternative would be to make a molded gelatin like pie, similar to a refrigerator lime pie. Lots of gelatin and grated carrots. I, personally, wouldn't like it, but I am not fond of jello with carrots in it either.
Happy experimenting.
You can make a carrot custard pie by substituting cooked carrots for pumpkin or sweet potatoes in their respective pies. But chances are, nobody will notice.
To really showcase some fresh homegrown carrots, I've made an off-beat but really delicious carrot pie based on the Indian dessert "Gajar ka Halwa". This involves stewing the carrots in whole milk until the milk is almost entirely evaporated, spicing and adding nuts & raisins. Unlike a custard, in this recipe the carrots are truly front and center. (Which means this can only be as good as the carrots you use!)
