Pie of the Week - Lemon Tart

It's time.

I have been putting this off all winter. I look at those Meyer lemons bobbing on the tree out back and think, "I gotta do something with those." I've made lemonade, limoncello, and lemon-juice ice cubes. And there are still so many lemons out there. Look at them all! Next I must consider preserved lemons.

After I get finished with lemon tart, that is. Tart is just another word for pie with no lid.

My web research on lemon tart led me through the looking-glass and into a vast lemon tart alternate universe. I never knew that this was a tart people became passionate about. And, as with everything else one searches for on the web, there are gazillions of recipes - and all of them called THE BEST LEMON TART RECIPE -EVER!!!! Sac Pie could make an entire career out of comparing all the lemon tart recipes side by side in an enormous early spring bake-off - amount of butter/eggs, ease of preparation, presentation, taste, yadda yadda - but Sac Pie already has a full-time job, such as it is, and other leisure pursuits besides eating. Please don't act all surprised about that.

So far, I'm able to make three decisions: I will use the backyard lemons, and look for the recipe that maximizes lemons (counting the juice and the zest this took four); I will use the standard pie crust for the tart shell (just to see what happens); and I will not strive for a low-fat, cooking-light recipe but start out with the full schmear - eggs, butter, sugar. Based on the outcome, I will modify the recipe if needed, because I will still have a thousand lemons.

So all I need is a recipe for the tart filling. This is not going to be lemon meringue pie, no no no. Sac Pie does not do lemon meringue. This filling is going to be something between a lemon curd and lemon sauce - soft but firm, viscous and low-rise, not stiff and airy like lemon pudding. It seems wise to pre-bake the shell because 1) the filling is delicate and, loaded with sugar, prone to scorching, and 2) the liquidy filling will be less likely to make the bottom of the shell turn mushy if it's baked first.

Here we go.

I followed this recipe, which I found at David Lebovitz's site, www.davidlebovitz.com/archives/2009/05/tart_au_citron_french_lemon_tart.html.

This one looked the simplest and the least sugary and finicky to me. Because I'd never made a lemon tart before, I figured I ought to start with the simple approach and build some confidence before going for something more elaborate. And if David Lebovitz can make a delicious tart with egg yolks that have been in suspended animation in his freezer for a few months, odds are good that a novice's will come out okay. Right?

If you are using a standard 9.5-inch tart pan, I would advise doubling the recipe below, otherwise you end up with barely enough filling to make the dessert not just low-rise but, er, thin. To the point of stingy. Not especially enticing.

Are you ready?

Ingredients:

1/2 cup (125 ml) freshly-squeezed lemon juice 


grated zest of one lemon, preferably unsprayed


1/2 cup (100 g) sugar 


6 tablespoons (85 g) butter, salted or unsalted, cut into bits


2 large eggs


2 large egg yolks

One 9-inch (23 cm) tart shell.

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350F (180C.)

NOTE: If you pop the tart shell into the oven at 350 degrees F to bake until golden, you can have the custard filling ready to go into it at the exact time that it is finished baking - about 20 minutes.

1. In a medium-sized non-reactive saucepan, heat the lemon juice, zest, sugar, and butter. Have a mesh strainer nearby.

2. In a small bowl, beat together the eggs and the yolks.

3. When the butter is melted, whisk some of the warm lemon mixture into the eggs, stirring constantly, to warm them. Scrape the warmed eggs back into the saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and almost begins to bubble around the edges.


4. Pour the lemon curd though a strainer directly into the pre-baked tart shell, scraping with a rubber spatula to press it through.


5. Smooth the top of the tart and pop it in the oven for five minutes, just to set the curd.

6. Remove from the oven and let cool before slicing and serving.

That was easy! A dusting of confectioner's sugar and a few twists of fresh lemon on top, a sprig of mint, perhaps, and you are off to the races with this simple, elegant confection. Or skip the decorating and just slice into it. Your pastry shell should be firm enough to hold up the dense, silky curd. The filling made with this recipe was balanced between sweet and tart; if you like it more tart, you can reduce the sugar. In the picture directly below, you can see the little flecks of lemon zest in the curd and get a sense of the smooth consistency of its surface.

This was one of Sac Pie's homelier-looking works, mainly because it was an experiment that we were prepared to throw out if it didn't work. But it works just fine. We will double the filling and dress it up when we make it for Susan's ranch picnic this weekend.

If you have some lemons to use up, this is an easy and delicious way to enjoy their freshness. Let me know how you do with your version of this tart.