Lemon Tart

Lemon tart, torta di limone, tart au citron, call it what you want - this is the best recipe for it. Fresh and zesty, it works all year round with a flavour that cuts right through. A little tip: the finer you can grate the zest, the better the result. The best is an old fashioned grater with the small serrated hole zester rather than those like a microplane.

Method

1. For the pastry
2. Cut the cold butter into small pieces. In a food processor, pulse-chop the flour, salt and butter to the texture of coarse breadcrumbs
3. Add the icing sugar and egg yolks, and pulse into a soft ball. Wrap in cling film and chill for an hour
4. Preheat the oven to 170°C.
5. Coarsely grate the pastry into a loose-bottomed, fluted 26 cm flan tin, then press it down evenly to cover the sides and base. Line with greaseproof paper and fill with baking beans
6. Bake blind for 20-30 minutes, until the edges are light brown. Leave to cool

1. For the filling
2. In a large heat proof bowl over a pan of simmering water, whisk the lemon zest and juice, the sugar and eggs and egg yolks until they have broken up
3. Slowly add the butter, gently whisking until each bit is fully incorporated before adding the next bit
4. Once all of the butter is in the mixture, it shouldn't be long before it starts to thicken, you should be stirring/whisking all the time, you want it to be as thick as lemon curd
5. Coarsely grate the pastry into the flan tin, then once this has been achieved, put the bowl of lemon mixture into a sink of cold water and leave to cool, stirring occasionally
6. To finish, turn the oven up to 230°C, pour the lemon mixture into the tart case and put in the highest part of the oven for 15-20 minutes, you want the top to have taken on some spots of colour, but be careful it doesn't burn. Leave to cool
7. Slice it up and serve with cream or créme fraiche