Today, we are featuring one of the most traditional pastries in Paraguayan cuisine, which is also very popular in Argentina, Uruguay and Greece: pasta frola, pasta frolla or pastafrola.
This pie will certainly remind all of us the rustic pie of our grandmothers, a jam pie that will surely revive good memories of your childhood!
Pastafrola consists of a dough that is garnished with quince jam, guava jam, sweet potatoes or milk jam. It is covered with a lattice of the same dough.
The origin of pasta frolla is uncertain. It is said that its initial popularity in Argentina, would be linked to Italian immigration in the region. Indeed, pastafrola would be a version of its Italian ancestor, the crostata alla marmellata, a classic Italian pastry. Like this Italian crostata, pastafrola is also decorated with a lattice of dough on top.
As for the quince paste, although its origin is Spanish, Argentina is historically one of the largest producers of this delicacy of which it produces 70,000 tons per year.
Another version claims that pasta frolla is the creole adaptation of the linzertorte (tarta linzer in Spanish), a traditional Austrian pie. The difference is that linzertorte is prepared with raspberry jam or other red berries. The linzertorte is a classic Christmas pastry in Austria, Switzerland, Germany and Hungary.
The term pastafrola derives from the Italian pastafrolla which means “shortcrust pastry” in Spanish. Popularly in Spain and Greece, it is called pasta flora over there.
Shortcrust pastry, the dough of pastafrola
In the pure French tradition, the broken dough consists of a small amount of water, usually 50 g for 250 g of flour. Pastafrola paste does not contain any water at all.
Pasta frola is a mixture of flour and other ingredients such as salt, sugar, butter and eggs. To these, people add vanilla or the zest of a citrus like lemon more often.
The dough has a rather compact consistency that can vary depending on the recipe, the quantity of each ingredient and what the dough will be used for.
The most important ingredient of this dough is butter, but it can be replaced by other fats, such as margarine, which will give it a different taste.
In the traditional preparation, the butter should be cold and gently kneaded with the fingers or with the flat beater of a stand mixer. It is important to avoid overheating the butter as the dough would be as elastic as if you had used liquid fats such as oil. Pasta frolla should be crisp and crumbly. Butter is present in varying percentages, generally about 1½ cup for 4 cups of flour.
Pasta frolla dough is a basic recipe for many Paraguayan, Argentinian and Uruguayan dishes.
It has a rather neutral taste, but you can add salt to use as a base for savory pies, or give it a sweet taste (like here) by adding sugar or add specific flavors such as cocoa powder.
Its uses in the Paraguayan cuisine are multiple: it is used as a base for several pies or quiches, for tarts, for appetizers, for fruit cakes or for biscuits.
This recipe is validated by our expert in Paraguayan cuisine, Chef Miguel Figueredo. Miguel is the chef of the popular restaurant El Bolsi in Asunción.
Pasta Frola
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ cup butter
- ⅔ cup sugar
- Zest of a lemon
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 egg
- 10 oz. quince paste (or guava paste)
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon butter , melted
- ½ cup shredded coconut
Equipment
- Stand mixer
- Pie pan
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 380 F (190˚C).
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the flour with the butter, baking powder, sugar and lemon zest, and mix. The mixture will have a sandy texture.
- Add the eggs and continue mixing. If the dough is too sticky, add a little flour.
- Roll ⅔ of the dough in a pie pan and place in the refrigerator.
- Cut the quince (or guava) paste into small pieces and pour into a saucepan over low heat with 2 tablespoons of sugar and 2 tablespoons of water. Stir constantly over low heat, until it melts and becomes a thick jam. Remove from heat and let cool.
- Remove the pie pan from the refrigerator and fill it with the jam, pouring it evenly.
- Roll out the rest of the dough to a thickness of ⅛ inch (2 mm) and cut into strips about ½ inch wide (1 cm).
- Cover the pie with the strips of dough, making a lattice pattern.
- (Optional) Glue the edges carefully, by applying another strip of dough all around the pie.
- Sprinkle shredded coconut around the edges of the pie after brushing with melted butter.
- Bake in a hot oven until the dough is golden brown, about 30 to 40 minutes.
- Let cool before slicing.
Mike is “the devil” of the 196 flavors’ duo. Nicknamed as such by his friends, he is constantly in search of unusual recipes and techniques with impossible to find ingredients. The devil is always pushing the envelope, whether it is with humor or culinary surprises.
The Book of Food says
It is definitely linked to Italy because it’s traditional there too.
betty speyrer says
Good recipe, but you have mistaken the temperatures Centigrade for Farenheit.
Thank you!
Betty from New orleans
Mike Benayoun says
Thanks a lot for noticing, Betty. Just fixed it 😉
Devin says
I’m looking for pie recipes and thank God I found this! I’ll make this tomorrow.
Lisa says
Do you butter the pie pan?
Hands Doing Things says
Hola Lisa! Dough has a good amount of butter, so it’s not mandatory. However, if you want to be sure you can absolutely butter it – no harm will be done!