Lunar New Year is almost upon us, but it has been almost seven years since I have actually spent it back home. Amongst other things, I miss the festive snacks and tidbits, though my friends do bring some up to the UK every year or so, such that I have an ample supply. This year, my friend's fiancee was baking pineapple tarts, and given feedback from a reader to do something festive, I decided to join in, albeit a few thousand kilometres away. Since Sainsbury's has all the ingredients in their Basics range, right down to pineapple pieces, I can take the liberty of documenting my experience here.
Pineapple tarts consist of a shortbread topped with a pineapple conserve. Based on that knowledge and experienced cook would have been able to make this without any guidance, but as I am relatively inexperienced with baking I had to look up the recipe on the Net. I managed to find one at Rasa Malaysia, the Southeast Asian culinary blog that has made the rounds in the States. I will refrain from publishing the instructions here other than adding my own comments as we go along. If using one can of Sainsbury's Basics pineapple, halve all quantities listed on the blog (You will need half a block of Sainsbury's Basics salted butter, and no salt). I also have some suspicions about the liberal amounts of sugar used, so reduce where appropriate.
Making the pineapple conserve. Pineapple after blending....
... and after cooking and turning into a conserve.
Simple shortbread pastry making. I overestimated the flour to be used here, but then again, I don't have any weighing scales in the kitchen.
They may not look pretty, and certainly nothing like pineapple tarts found on other blogs, but they certainly are palatable. The Sainsbury's Basics Pineapple pieces were very suitable for making jams and conserves from, so like most of the other Basics products, they will help where presentation does not matter.
| Description | Price per Unit | No. of servings | Trade-up Premium | Trade-up Benefits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pineapple pieces in juice | £0.20/kg | 227g | +£0.41 | Not known. slices is +£0.28 from basics pieces. |
Happy new year! To mark the occasion, I decided to leave a comment to say that I immensely enjoy reading this blog - never faily to brighten up my lunchbreak (which is when I usually read this). Your optimism and cheeriness are infectious, even if the final products don't always look their best! Keep up the good work :)
ReplyDeleteHello Clare, and happy new year to you too! It's great to know that this blog has been keeping readers like yourself entertained, on top of the information that it attempts to provide. I admit that lately I have not been very diligent in updating this blog regularly, so comments like yours are certainly very encouraging! Thank you very much!
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