Big City, Little Kitchen

A couple of weeks ago, I had the privilege of spending a few days in Monterosso, one of the hilltop Cinque Terre towns in Italy’s Liguria region and home to possibly the most beautiful beach I’ve ever been on. At one of the town’s shops I spotted a barrel of gorgeous, rustic, locally-grown lemons, with leaves still attached, and I knew what my souvenir would be. So, after I spent a few days admiring them, still-life-like in a bowl on my kitchen counter, I obliterated them in the blender to create this whole lemon tart.

I borrowed this recipe from the Babbo baking book, but omitted the limoncello because I didn’t have it, and the 1/3 cup lemon juice because I was afraid it would make the filling too bitter, without the sweetness of the limoncello for balance. These lemons were ideal for this recipe because they were not covered with a thick layer of wax, like so many supermarket varieties; because this recipe uses the entire lemon (except for the seeds), skin and all, try to find some without that wax covering.

The end result is a sweet, citrus-flavored crust and a tart filling, studded with chewy bits of lemon rind that creates an interesting texture and a taste that reminds me of a lemon Starburst. NB: this recipe must be started one day in advance, as stated in the recipe below.

All-Of-The-Lemon Tart (adapted from Gina dePalma’s Dolce Italiano)

• 2 large, preferably unwaxed, lemons
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3 eggs
• 2 egg yolks
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• Pinch of salt
• Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting
• 1/2 recipe Sweet Tart Crust (below)

The day before making the tart, wash and dry the two lemons, and slice them as thinly as possible. Remove the seeds and toss the lemon slices with the sugar in a bowl; cover and refrigerate overnight.

On a floured board, roll out the crust dough into a round 11 inches wide, and fit into a 10-inch fluted tart pan, trimming off excess edges. Refrigerate while you make the filling.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Put the entire contents of the lemon slice bowl into a blender, and blend until the mixture is pureed (a few larger bits are okay).

In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, egg yoks, heavy cream, vanilla, and salt. Add the pureed lemon mixture to the egg mixture, and whisk until well-combined. Remove the tart shell from the refrigerator and place on a baking sheet; pour the filling into the shell, and bake for 50 to 60 minutes at 350 degrees, rotating halfway through baking time and removing when the top of the tart is lightly browned (filling will not be completely set). Let cool completely, and dust with confectioners’ sugar, before serving.

Sweet Tart Crust

• 2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• Zest of one lemon
• 1.5 sticks unsalted butter, cold and cut into small cubes
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup heavy cream

Place dry ingredients and zest in a food processor and pulse until combined. Add the cubed butter and pulse until mixture is sandy, with no large lumps of butter remaining.

In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, egg yolk, vanilla, and heavy cream; add to butter mixture and pulse until the dough comes together in a ball. Remove from processor, shape into a disk, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate until ready to use.