If I find the word ‘lazy’ in the title of a recipe, it’s just… I feel like I can breathe a sigh of relief. Finally, a recipe that couples my deep love for pie with my deep appreciation for sitting on my porch, sipping drinks, and talking trash. You mean I can have both homemade pie and lazy trash-talking all in one sweet situation!?
Well… yes, and also NO. You can have your pie (tart), but like any good pie, you’re going to have to work for it.
Yea. We can talk about it. I’m going to make us.
First, let’s talk about citrus!
The original recipe for this lazy / not-so-lazy tart calls for a Meyer Lemon. A whole Meyer Lemon. Peel, pith, insides. The whole shebang.
Meyer Lemons are all well and good, and you should totally use a big juicy one for this recipe. I happen to live inside this mess of citrus in The French Quarter and wanted to find a way to incorporate this crazy citrus into my tart.
These are calamondins! New fruit from my new city. Tiny, very tart, thin-skinned, lightly seeded citrus fruits. I halved these, scooped out the sneaky seeds, and added them to a blender for the pie filling.
It’s time.
This recipe (originally from this month’s Food and Wine Magazine featuring Food52!!!) is one part lazy, one part (what’s the opposite of lazy?) NOTlazy.
The tart crust uses both vegetable shortening and butter. I usually use an all-butter crust, but wanted to stay true to the recipe and experiment with a combination of fats. Vegetable shortening adds a crispness and stability to the tart crust.
Pro tip: This tart crust is most successful if the vegetable shortening is chilled before incorporating into the crust.
See? Already making you work. Chilling vegetable shortening any all.
The dough comes together by hand or in a food processor and is left to rest in the refrigerator for at least an hour. The resting time is essential. Non-negotiable.
After being rolled out… we’ve still got some crust issues to contend with.
The crust needs to be pricked with the tines of a fork (so it doesn’t puff up during pre-baking), and frozen before being par-baked.
Yea… this sure is the opposite of lazy, isn’t it?
Here’s the thing: each step is important.
Resting the tart crust: helps distribute the moisture throughout the dough and allows the fats to rechill and harden.
Pricking the tart crust: allows air to escape and keeps the crust from bubbling up during par-baking.
Freezing the crust before parbaking: keeps the crust firm and stops it from shrinking down the sides of the pan during parbaking. Key!
Rested. Rolled. Pricked. Frozen.
Now you’ll need a lightly greased piece of foil, and dried baking beans or pie weights.
Yea. That wasn’t lazy like, AT ALL. Right?
Here’s the part where we get to kick back a bit. Finally. It’s with the filling.
You’ll need a blender and the ability to dump everything into it: a softened stick of butter, eggs, whole calamondins, and sugar.
The filling is poured into the warm, golden brown, par-baked crust and mooooore baking!
The crust is substantial and flakey. The filling is sweet and citrus. It’s lovely living!
Lazy Mary's Lemon (or any tart citrus) Tart 2015-01-06 12:47:06 Serves 8The post Lazy Mary’s Citrus Tart appeared first on Joy the Baker.