Double Crust Pōpolo Pie

E Ho‘olako Mau, Vol II: All Hawaiian Cook Book. Tamar Luke Paneʻe.

INGREDIENTS:

4 cups fresh pōpolo berries, washed
2 tablespoons quick cooking tapioca
½ cup sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon grated lemon rind
2 tablespoons butter or magarine
Pastry for double crust

DIRECTIONS:

Combine pōpolo, tapioca, sugar, salt, cinnamon and lemon rind. 
Turn into an 8-inch pie pan lined with pastry rolled 1/8 inch thick. 
Dot with butter or margarine. 
Cover with remaining pastry rolled ⅛ inch thick. 
Trim, turn under, and flute edge. 
Cut a gash in top crust to allow for steam to escape. 
Bake in a preheated hot oven 400° F for 20–30 minutes until crust is golden brown.

FRESH PŌPOLO SAUCE:

2 cups fresh pōpolo berries
⅓ cup sugar or more to taste
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Wash and crush pōpolo. 
Add sugar, lemon juice and salt. 
Mix well. 
Place in a saucepan. 
Bring to boiling point and boil for 1 minute. 
Add vanilla. Chill. 
Serve over puddings, cakes, or ice cream.
 

About Pōpolo

Pōpolo (solanum nigrum) is an herb that grows 1 to 3 feet high. It used to grow abundantly in lowlands. The small white flowers become the hua pōpolo (black juicy berries). The berries should be carefully picked when ripe and rinsed with several changes of water before eating. They may be made into a sauce and used as a topping on ice cream or pies.

For medicinal purposes the young shoots and tender leaves are gathered and wrapped in tī leaf bundles, then broiled over coals. The mixture relieves congestion in the chest. Other times, the leaves were pounded and the juice extracted, with a little honey added to sweeten the taste. This mixture was used for severe chest congestion.