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For my annual festive lunch<\/a> this year,\u00a0 I made a large lemon tart. \u00a0Tarte au citron definitely ranks up there as one of my all time favourite desserts.\u00a0 I adore lemons and use them prodigiously in my everyday cooking\u2026.thinly sliced in salads, lemon and oil as a salad dressed, squeezed liberally into smoked trout pate, hummous or baba ganoush.\u00a0 As part of a tingling morning drink mixed with orange juice.\u00a0\u00a0 If you can get hold of Amalfi lemons they are wonderful \u2013 try \u00a0Natoora<\/a> or a specialist greengrocers.\u00a0 If not try and use unwaxed lemons from a supermarket \u2013 better flavour and the zest tastes amazing!<\/p>\n

It\u2019s fear of pastry that puts most people off making any kind of tart.\u00a0 Pastry is really not that difficult \u2013 it takes some practice and you have to follow some basic rules such as using cold butter, resting the dough in the fridge for at least an hour before using, handling the pastry as little as possible and a very particular method of putting the pastry into the tart case which I learned when I was an apprentice cook at Stevie Parle\u2019s Dock Kitchen.\u00a0 This method of blind baking does not require the faff of baking beans or suchlike. \u00a0Over the past year my pastry skills have improved so much so that I was really quite proud of the edge of the pastry.<\/p>\n

Serves 12-14 people<\/strong><\/p>\n

FOR THE PASTRY<\/p>\n

350g plain flour
\na pinch of salt
\n175g unsalted butter (cold), cut into cubes
\n100g icing sugar
\n3 egg yolks<\/p>\n

FOR THE FILLING<\/p>\n

finely grated zest and juice of 7 lemons
\n350g caster sugar
\n6 whole eggs
\n9 egg yolks
\n300g unsalted butter, softened<\/p>\n

Pre heat the oven to 160\u00baC\/325\u00baF\/Gas 4<\/p>\n

For the sweet pastry, pulse the flour, salt and butter in a food processor until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs.\u00a0 Add the icing sugar followed by the eggs yolks and pulse.\u00a0 The mixture will immediately leave the sides of the bowl and combine.\u00a0 Spread out a 30 cm piece of cling film on a surface, remove the pastry, bringing it together with the help of the cling film and chill in the fridge for at least one hour.<\/p>\n

Coarsely grate (yes grate!) the pastry into a 30cm (12 inch) loose bottomed fluted tin, pressing it quickly, evenly and firmly onto the sides and base.\u00a0 Try not to work the pastry too much.\u00a0 Put the tart shell in the freezer for 15 minutes until hard, then bake in the oven for about 15 mins or until pale brown and firm to the touch.\u00a0 (NB try not to over cook the shell as it will require further baking when filled).\u00a0 Let the case cool off for 15 mins while you make the filling.<\/p>\n

Put all the ingredients except the butter in a large saucepan over a very low heat, and whisk until the eggs have broken up and the sugar has dissolved. I recommend whisking the whole eggs in a little bowl with a fork before adding to the lemon juice, zest and sugar.\u00a0 It will then be easier to amalgamate the 9 eggs yolks.<\/p>\n

Add half the butter and continue to whisk.\u00a0 At this point the eggs will start to cook and the mixture should coat the back of a metal spoon.\u00a0 Add the remaining butter and continue stirring until the mixture becomes very thick.\u00a0 It is important to continue whisking throughout the cooking process to prevent the mixture from curdling.\u00a0 Remove from the heat, place on a cold surface (this stops the cooking process) and continue to whisk until the mixture is lukewarm.<\/p>\n

Raise the oven temperature to 230\u00baC\/450\u00baF\/Gas 8<\/p>\n

Spoon the lemon filling into the pastry case and bake until the top is brown.\u00a0 This should take about 8-10 mins.\u00a0 If like me, you like little brown spots on your lemon tart \u2013\u00a0 place the tart under an oven grill keeping a wary eye lest it should burn. \u00a0My grill is quite fierce so turning the tin helps an even browning. If you do find that your pastry edges are burning – cut a thin long length of foil and apply to the edge of the tart to protect it while it is under the grill.<\/p>\n

Remove from the oven and allow it to cool before slicing.
\nServe with cr\u00e8me fraiche or solo with an artfully placed splash of fruit couli next to each slice.<\/p>\n

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