Back during the days of our COVID-19 self-isolation, we decided to look at recipes we can make with very few ingredients and what one is likely to have in their pantry.
Here we made a Short Crust Pasty and used a pineapple filling to create simple and sweet dessert.
This same pastry can be used with almost any filling for an outstanding result… whether savory of sweet. Experiment and enjoy!
When we were a few weeks into our “self-isolation” (for COVID-19), we were missing food that we could just grab on the run in pre-COVID days… Consequently, we decided to explore recipes that we could make with ingredients we were likely to have in our pantry. Here we made a Short Crust Pasty and used pineapple filling to create a simple and sweet dessert (that I grew up with as a girl in Montserrat)… a West Indian Pineapple Tart! This same pastry can be used with many other fillings such as spicy beef, mushroom, cheese and even squash. Feel free to experiment and send us questions if they pop up!
Short Crust Pastry Ingredients...
1 Pound Flour
1 Teaspoon salt
½ Cup butter
½ Cup shortening
Iced Water (about 1 cup)
1 Egg, to be used to glaze the pastry
Instructions on Making the Pastry...
Mix the salt into the flour. Using a pastry blender, work the butter and shortening into the flour until it looks like breadcrumbs.
Next, using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, work the iced water into the pastry adding a little at a time. The water is being used to “bring the pastry together”. You might use more, you might use less. The goal is not to over work the pastry, you want to be able to make a ball.
Chill the dough for at least 30 minutes before using.
Pineapple Filling Ingredients...
20 Ounces can crushed pineapple
¾ cup sugar
1 cinnamon stick
A pinch of salt
Place the canned pineapple and it’s juice along with the sugar, salt and cinnamon stick into a medium pot. Bring the ingredients to a boil, then turn down the heat to medium. Cook about 25 minutes, until the sauce has thickened. Remove the sauce from the heat and allow it to cool completely before adding to the pastry.
Tart Making Instructions...
Preheat the oven to 375. Lightly flour the counter and roll the pastry to about ⅛ of an inch. Cut 6 inch rounds into the pastry, place 2 tablespoons of the pineapple filling into the center of the round and spread the filling leaving a ½ inch border. Brush the border with water, and then fold the pastry into a triangle overlapping the edges. Brush with the egg wash.
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until golden brown.
Let cool and enjoy!
Tell Us What You Think!
Please let us know how you like my West Indian Pineapple Tart recipe via our Contact Us page, our Facebook Page, or Instagram. Oh, and feel free to pair it up with other recipes that I’ve posted such as my Herb Crusted Beef Strip Loin Roast, Super Crispy Rum Battered Fish, or Nicole’s Bread Pudding with Rum Soaked Raisins.
If this recipe really makes your mouth water, why don’t you come for cooking classes in Antigua. Come for one class or a series of classes and you can even stay in our BnB.