I was given a challenge by my favorite co-worker about 24 hours before he needed a homemade pie. He didn't want an everyday pie, as he was attending a Pie Party. He has lived in Hawaii for several years and brought up Okinawan Sweet Potato Pie. We looked few several and couldn't find one that fit within our time restraint and seemed delicious. After much searching, we took a few recipes and combined them to make our very own Momona Pie. The crust is a macadamia nut short bread crust and the filling is infused with coconut milk to bring the tasty tropical delight through out the pie. It is not overwhelming, I typically do not eat coconut, and I loved this!
Ingredients Pie:
2 cups of mashed Okinawa (purple) sweet potatoes
1 stick of unsalted butter at room temperature (not melted!)
1/4 cup of white sugar
1/4 cup of honey
2 room-temperature eggs
1/2 cup of heavy cream
1/2 cup of coconut milk
1 tsp of vanilla
1/4 tsp of salt
First, peel the potato and cut it into chunks about the size of a small egg. Boil the chunks until they turn soft, then drain and mash them until they're smooth. If you don't have a mixing machine (and I don't) you can smush the potato chunks through a mesh strainer with the back of a spoon. It's a workout for the arms, but it gets the job done. However you do this, at the end you should have two cups of potato.
Preheat the oven to 325. In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar together. If the butter is at room temperature, it'll easily be soft enough to mix up. Add the honey, mix it up, then add the eggs and mix some more. When that's smooth whip in the potatoes, Again, mix until smoothish. Finally, add the vanilla, salt, milk, and cream, and mix yet some more, until it's pretty smooth.
Ingredients for Crust
1 1/2 sticks of unsalted butter
1/8 cup + 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup macadamia nuts, chopped
Preheat oven to 350°F.
In a mixing bowl, combine sugar and flour. Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Add chopped macadamia nuts and mix well. Press lightly into a 13" x 9" baking pan. Bake at 350°F for 12-17 minutes, until lightly browned. Set aside.
Topping 1/2 cup non-sweet toasted shredded coconut.
However you've made your pie crust, put it into your pie dish. Pour the mix gently in, then bake the pie for 45 minutes. Let the pie cool to room temperature.
Serve with whipped cream, or some other cream topping if you want to get fancy...and you do. Whipped cream really brings this all together.
