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Lemon Tart August 24, 2006 There’s a monthly farmers’ market held at in our Melbourne suburb. All sorts of produce is sold there from organic fruit and vegetables to rare breed meats, fresh barramundi to sourdough bread, rabbits, wine, olive oil, pickles, honey, cakes, plants, fruit juices, nuts, cheeses. The purveyors are passionate about their produce and enjoy talking about it. I came home last weekend with some free range pork from the Jindi Pig farm, a large Welsh black beef pie for the lads to eat after watching the Bledisloe Cup game, bread, blue cheese, kohlrabi, baby leeks and a fine bag of lemons. Lemons are indigenous to India and are widely cultivated in Mediterranean countries. They reached Europe by way of Persia and were first grown in Greece and later Italy in the second century. It’s well known that lemon juice helps prevent the scurvy that laid many a sailor low during long sea voyages. The men would start on their voyage fit and well but would soon succumb to extreme fatigue, suffer gum and tooth problems. While others had made a connection between scurvy and lack of citrus in the sailors’ diet, preventive measures were not taken. However, in 1747 Dr James Lind conducted an experiment on affected sailors. He had six groups of two sailors and gave each pair a different dietary addition. Some had cider, others gargled with sulphuric acid, another pair had vinegar, a fourth 1/2 a pint of seawater daily and another two had a mixture of garlic, mustard, horseradish and other herbs and natural gums. But the pair who ate two oranges and a lemon each day made a spectacular recovery. But it was not until 1795 the Royal Navy made sure that all sailors had lemon juice to drink when they were at sea for longer than one month. At one stage lime juice was substituted (hence English sailors became kown as “limeys”) but lime was not as effective as lemon juice which was brought back. Captain Cook was one of the most successful at combating scurvy on board ship by providing fresh lime or lemon juice. Lemon juice has other benefits. It is claimed to be effective in stopping the stomach and diaphragmatic spasms of hiccoughs. Lemons are used extensively in Middle Eastern cooking and with supplies currently plentiful, this is a good time to preserve lemons for Middle Eastern dishes. When it comes to dessert, many people will put lemons ahead of chocolate. There’s something refreshing about a lemony sweet and lemon tart fills that bill nicely. If you have a deli that sells freshly made ricotta - usually shaped like a large inverted bowl and bearing the impression of the muslin or cheesecloth used to drain it - that’s the one to go for. Lemon Tart
Cut the cold butter into cubes and place in the food processor with the lemon rind, sifted flour and icing sugar. Pulse until the mix breaks down into rice-sized pieces. Lightly beat the egg and with the processor motor running, gradually add to the mix until it starts to draw together into a ball. Tip the pastry onto the bench and knead lightly until it is stuck together. Pat into a round, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Roll out and use to line a 22cm flan tin. Prick the base in several places then push a circle of foil onto the base and bake at 220C for five minutes. Meanwhile make the filling. Filling: Blend together in food processor until well mixed. Remove from the oven, take out the foil and pour in half of the filling. Place back on the oven tray and pour in the remaining filling. This will prevent the filling sloshing about as you take the tart from bench to oven. Turn the heat back to 180C and bake for 15 minutes or until the filling sets and is no longer wobbly. Cool and serve with whipped cream or thick sweetened Greek yoghurt. Garnish with lemon or lime slices and citrus zest. More lemony desserts:
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