Caramelized Meyer Lemon Tart & Giveaway! {Webisode #60 (!)}
Welcome back webisodes! With a few big deadlines met and one nice vacation under my belt I have returned with new webisodes. Given my hectic schedule this spring and summer I plan to feature new webisodes every couple of weeks and hope to return to my weekly filming schedule in a few months. To kick off my return from webisode hiatus I am hosting a great giveaway today! See entry rules at the bottom of the post.
What’s Going on Today: Back from vacation, disgusted that winter is still here, just finishing up laundry from suitcase.
Naptime Goals: Laundry, dreaded ironing, lemon tart.
Tonight’s Menu: Roast Chicken, Caramelized Meyer Lemon Tart, Green Salad, Soft Rolls, White Wine.
I expected to return from vacation to a full blown Connecticut spring but came home to winter instead. I am not sure why the weather gods are punishing us with extended frigid temperatures and snow flurries this year, but I have had it. I am going to force spring to come. I am dry cleaning my sweaters for storage, hanging up the old down jacket and getting a pedicure for my flip flops. It doesn’t matter if my feet are freezing or I catch cold from walking around in a thin sweater, spring is here and I am going to make it work for me! In the kitchen I am going to start cooking spring food. Bright, citrusy happy food that begs to be eaten outdoors among cherry blossoms while small vases of crocuses decorate my windowsills. This, along with my inappropriate-for-the-conditions-outside spring wardrobe, will force warm sunny skies and flower buds to come my way. I am sure of it.
To round out the hearty roasted chicken dinner I made upon our return from Charleston — a dish I made springy by stuffing it full of lemons and oranges — I decided to try the Caramelized Lemon Tart recipe from Martha Stewart’s new Pies & Tarts Cookbook. It looked perfectly simple to make during naptime plus, as you might guess, it gave me an excuse to use Meyer lemons. Martha’s recipe just calls for regular lemons, but why use those if Meyer are available?!
To make the simple tart I whipped up the pie crust in the morning after breakfast and finished the baking/broiling part during naptime later that day. The recipe was simple to follow and made the kitchen smell absolutely heavenly. I wish I could convey the aroma through film but I am not quite sure how to do that. Just take my word for it, the house smelled great. In fact, some would say, the fragrance was almost spring like. While it didn’t quite prompt a family of Robins to build a nest on our porch, I swore I saw one hop across our yard at one point. I don’t know about you, but that is a sure sign of spring to me!
To Enter to win your own copy of Martha Stewart’s Pies & Tarts Cookbook:
1. Leave a comment sharing your favorite spring food.
2. Join The Naptime Chef Facebook community.
3. Sign up for The Naptime Chef weekly newsletter (upper left hand corner)
4. Contest runs from April 7th at 7:00am Et through Thursday April 14th at 11:59pm. Winner will be chosen by random.org and announced in The Naptime Chef newsletter on Friday April 15th.
Recipe
Caramelized Meyer Lemon Tart
adapted from Martha Stewart’s Pies & Tarts Cookbook
Ingredients
For the crust:
| 2 ½ | cups all-purpose flour |
| ¼ | cup sugar |
| ¼ | teaspoon salt |
| 1 | cup cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces |
| 2 | large egg yolks, lightly beaten |
| 2 to 4 | tablespoons of ice water |
For the filling:
| 6 | large egg yolks |
| 2 | Meyer Lemons, zested and juiced (regular lemons can be substituted) |
| 1 | cup plus 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar |
| 1 | stick cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces |
Instructions
1. For the Crust: Add the flour, sugar and salt to a food processor and pulse until combined. Then add the butter and pulse the mixture again until it resembles a coarse meal. Add the egg yolks and drizzle the ice water over the mixture and pulse until the dough begins to come together. If dough is a little dry add a touch more water. Pat the dough into a round that is 1 inch thick, wrap it in plastic dough and chill it in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, or up to 2 days.
2. To Bake the Crust: Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Roll the dough to 1/8 inch thick and press it into an 8-inch round tart pan, trimming the edges as necessary. Chill the dough for about 30 minutes, or until firm. Add some pie weights or dried beans on top of the crust and bake it until the edges turn golden, about 15 minutes. Remove the weights and bake the crust for another 10 to 12 minutes, then let it cool completely on a wire rack.
3. For the filling: Place the yolks, lemon zest, lemon juice and 1 cup of sugar in a small saucepan and bring the heat to medium. Whisk the ingredients constantly and cook until the mixture is thickened and a little bubbly. About 8 to 10 minutes. The mixture will thicken up just toward the end of the 8 minutes, it happens very quickly. Do not leave the mixture unattended or it could curdle! Pour the thickened mixture through a fine mesh sieve to strain out any lumpy bits and zest. Stir the cold butter pieces until the mixture until the lemon becomes thick, smooth and glossy. Pour the lemon filling into the cooled crust and refrigerate it, uncovered, for at least 2 hours. Or until set.
4. Right before serving, turn on the broiler. Scatter the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar on top of the filling and place it under the broiler for about 2 to 3 minutes. The top will turn a caramel colored brown and will get a little bubbly. Do not let it burn! Remove the tart from the broiler, slice and serve.
Naptime Notes
Naptime Recipe Serving ideas
This tangy lemon dessert begs to be eaten with a chilly sweet scoop of vanilla ice cream or a sorbet.
Naptime Stopwatch
15 minutes for filling, 15 minutes for crust (plus waiting time)
Naptime Reviews
This was a hit all around. My daughter found the lemon a tad tart, but came around after the ice cream was added to her plate!
More Naptime Recipes
I also look forward to the appearance of rhubarb and asparagus.
I am so on this – Meyer lemons indeed!
Strawberries are abundant in the spring, and we start getting our tomatoes in, too. Both are favorites.
Yummy! This sounds delicious.
asparagus
Warm, juicy strawberries are finally coming into season and they are most definitely my favourite spring food!
i love that you list the tart before the salad in your “dinner” list 🙂
my favorite spring food is strawberries; i’ve been looking at (but not buying!) the mealy, sour ones in the grocery store for months–thank goodness the *real* ones are back, here in NC!
Strawberries!
I love Strawberry Shortcake…
Thanks, Cindi
jchoppes[at]hotmail[dot]com
I love Strawberry Shortcake…
Thanks, Cindi
jchoppes[at]hotmail[dot]com
I “Like” you on Facebook…
Again, many thanks to you!
Cindi
jchoppes[at]hotmail[dot]com
I “Like” you on Facebook…
Again, many thanks to you!
Cindi
jchoppes[at]hotmail[dot]com
Also, I am an email subscriber!
Merci, Cindi
jchoppes][at]hotmail[dot]com
Also, I am an email subscriber!
Merci, Cindi
jchoppes][at]hotmail[dot]com
Anything with strawberries….yum!
Ok I already get your newsletter, now I’m in the Facebook community page too. Now I need to get a tart pan! Thanks for the helpful time keeping tips.
I receive the newsletter and just liked you on FB. Love MS as well.
I like to fire up the grill! Why wait for summer?
I like you on fb.
I already subscribe to your newsletter.
asparagus… asparagus… asparagus! Can’t get enough of it!
I already get your newsletter and I am a FB fan, too.
Strawberries and Naval Oranges that have been in my grocery store are some of my favorite spring foods.
I subscribe to your newsletter.
Strawberries, asparagus, rhubarb….I love spring!
susitravl(at)gmail(dot)com