PINEAPPLE HALF-MOON PIES
(Known as Pai Faina in Tonga)
(Known as Pai Fala in Samoa)
INGREDIENTS and DIRECTIONS:
Crust:
5 cups flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup butter
1 can (14 ounces) coconut cream
Mix all of the above until a smooth ball forms. Divide into 6 pieces and roll each out into an 8-inch circle.
Filling:
4 cups crushed pineapple, drained
2 cups sugar
1 cup milk
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup pineapple juice
Heat pineapple, sugar and milk until hot. Mix cornstarch with pineapple juice. Add to heated pineapple and mix well. Let cool.
Spoon in pineapple filling into middle of each dough circle. Fold over to close edges. Press edges together and seal with a little water. Use fork to puncture top of dough about 3 times for ventilation.
Place on greased cookie sheets. Bake at 375 for about 15 minutes or until golden brown. Makes 6 turnovers.
This recipe is from an article in the North County Times newspaper, written by Ruth Marvin Webster. You can find it online at:
MELI’S COMMENTS:
This was my first time to make these. They are very popular in the islands, as well as in the Tongan and Samoan communities here in The States. To my palangi (caucasian) friends/family, you may find these a bit bland for your tastes. In fact, when I first tasted them, I was going to tell my son that I thought I needed to make some changes in the recipe. But then I saw the look of reverie on his face, as he bit into one. It seems he was flooded with memories of the months he spent in Tonga several years ago. He said these were one of the foods that he loved from when he stayed there. Apparently, the recipe is exactly as it should be! But I do have a few comments to make. I am sure that most people learn to make these by being shown by someone else. But if a person is just going by the recipe, they do need some basic cooking knowledge.
These are the instructions I would add:
CRUST: 1) Be sure butter is cold. 2) Cut the butter into the flour before adding other ingredients. Should look crumbly. 3) Don’t over-work the dough or it will be tough. 4) Lightly flour the board and rolling pin before rolling out the circles.
FILLING: 1) When you add the cornstarch and pineapple juice, the recipe just says, “mix well”. It neglects to tell you to continue cooking until mixture starts to boil and thickens. 2) Also, it is important to know that you should stir frequently at first and then constantly as it starts to heat up, otherwise it will quickly burn.
 |
| One of the Small Pies |
When I made these, I followed the recipe and divided the dough into 6 portions. The pies are quite large and only 4 would fit on my cookie sheet. For the second cookie sheet, I decided to divide the 2 remaining pieces of dough each into half (creating 4 smaller pies). I actually liked this size better and would make them all that way next time. The only other thing I did differently was on those 4 smaller pies, I brushed the tops with egg white before cooking, to give them a nice finish. I also sprinkled the smaller ones with sugar and cinnamon as soon as I took them out of the oven. These were minor changes which I don’t think detracted from the integrity of the recipe. Oh, also, I found they took 20 minutes to bake, so you may have to adjust the cooking time.
Overall, I found the finished product to be exactly what I was looking for; authentic Polynesian-style pineapple half-moon pies!
No comments:
Post a Comment