Sunshine in a Tart! Vibrant colors and lovely flavors to herald in a new month and a new season!
Ingredients
for the candied kumquats
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup water
1 pint kumquats, cut into cross-wise slices and de-pitted
For the crust
1 stick cold butter, cut into pea size pieces
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling dough
1/4 cup almond flour/meal
1 egg yolk
Pinch salt
2 to 4 tablespoons cold water
For the curd
3/4 cup freshly squeezed Meyer lemon juice
3 Meyer lemons worth of zest, very finely zested
1 1/3 cups sugar
3 eggs + 2 egg yolks
Pinch salt
1 1/2 sticks butter, cut into pats
Directions
First make your candied kumquats These can be made up to a day in advance and refrigerated. In a small pot, bring the water to a simmer and dissolve the sugar. Once the sugar has completely dissolved, add the sliced kumquats. Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring often. If you want to keep the kumquats as perfect circles, lay them on wax paper to cool (if you don’t care, you can let them cool in their juices in a jar or bowl. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Preheat the oven to 425F degrees.
For the dough: Put the butter, sugar, flour, almond flour, egg yolk and salt in a food processor and pulse for 30 to 60 seconds or until the mixture has a grainy consistency. Add half of the water and pulse the food processor 2 to 3 times. The dough should start to come together, add the remaining water if needed. Check the consistency of the dough by clenching a small handful in your fist. If the dough stays together it is the proper consistency. If not, pulse the dough with a little more water. When the dough has reached the proper consistency, dump it out on a clean work surface. Using the heel of your hand, smear the dough straight forward and roll it back with your fingertips. Repeat this process 1 to 2 more times, dust with flour if needed. Form the dough into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
On a lightly floured work surface, roll the dough out to 1/8 to 1/4-inch in thickness. Lay the dough in the tart pan. Push the dough into the sides of the tart pan by rolling a small scrap of dough into a ball and pushing it into the dough. Roll over the top edge of the tart pan with the rolling pin to cut the extra dough from the pan and create a crisp edge. Cover the dough with aluminum foil and gently poke the foil into the side edges to fit the pan. This will help to keep the sides of the tart tall and straight as it cooks. Fill the tart shell with pie weights and place in the preheated oven. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, remove the foil and weights and bake for 2 to 3 minutes more. Remove the tart shell from the oven and cool. The dough should be golden and crisp.
Preheat the oven to 300F degrees.
For the curd: In a bowl, combine the lemon juice, zest, sugar, eggs and salt and whisk to a homogeneous consistency. Place in saucepan and bring to a medium heat. Cook, whisking, constantly until the mixture has thickened, about 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in the butter, 2 pats at a time until it’s incorporated and has a silky consistency. Pour the lemon curd into the prepared tart shell and bake in the preheated oven until the lemon curd has set, about 15 minutes. Let cool completely before decorating with the candied kumquats. Keep chilled before serving.
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