I simply cannot resist buying Meyer lemons when I see them on the shelves in the supermarket. Likewise I will not be able to not buy the Yuzus when I see them in the Japanese supermarkets during the seasons. I admit I definitely have a penchant for citrus fruits and I will try to make them into desserts of all kinds since I cannot eat certain ones straight. But these are actually sweet enough to eat. Meyer lemons are readily available for a bigger part of the year nowadays compared to one to two years ago where I thought I have to go to Australia to try tasting one when I heard so much about it through the net.
They are not as tart as a normal lemon and the fragrance is heavenly to me. It is a cross between a true lemon and a mandarin. The colour of the peel has a tinge of orange in it, just beautiful to me. It can also be kept for quite a few weeks without spoiling.
I even tried to plant the seeds but so far I have not gotten any success of course. Well, no harm in trying anything right? Popularity of the fruit climbed further when Martha Steward statrted to feature them in her recipes through her shows. She is one person who is crazy over all sorts of citrus fruits as well. Of course she has the luxury of having a huge greenhouse and her team of staff to experiment with them.
Well, for Singaporeans who cannot find Meyer Lemons, don't despair, you can always make a 1:1 substitution of the juice and zest of various lemons. Meyer lemons are much sweeter and less acidic than normal lemons, so you might want to minus the sugar level in some recipes or vice versa.
When I can get hold of Meyer lemons, I always end up with a lemon tart some how. Don't ask me why. You can also find another recipe in my older post. http://foodmaestro.blogspot.com/2014/01/meyer-lemon-tart_5.html
Meyer Lemon Tart
adapted from Rick Stein in Delicious Magazine
25cm round tart pan or 35cm x 12 cm x 2.5cm longish tart pan
Pastry
200g plain flour
50g ground almond
25g icing sugar
A pinch of salt
150g chilled unsalted butter - cubed then put it back into the fridge
1 egg yolk
1 egg white
1 1/2 tbsp ice water
Filling
4 to 5 Meyer lemons to yield 150 ml juice and all the zest (finely grated)
6 eggs - beaten lightly
180g sugar
150 ml cream
Icing sugar to dust (optional)
To make the pastry:
1. Sift the flour.
2. Put sifted flour, ground almond, icing sugar and salt into the food processor. If you don't have a
machine, you can do it manually, it just takes some effort.
3. Pulse it 2 to 3 times to mix it up.
4. Now add the chilled butter to the mixture and briefly pulse (please use pulse function) till it
resembles fine bread crumbs. Use your finger tips if you don't have a machine.
5. Add the egg yolk and the ice water and pulse again until the pastry just comes together.
6. Remove and gently knead a few times so it forms a smooth round.
7. Roll the dough out between 2 sheets of big plastic bags (cut sides) big enough to fit
your tart pan.
8. Poke holes in the dough all over and then store the tart pan in the fridge for 30 minutes.
9. Preheat the oven to 200C or 180C with fan.
10. When you are ready to bake the pastry, line the tart pan with baking paper, fill with beans or
raw rice and blind bake on a metal baking sheet for 12-15 minutes until the sides are a bit golden
brown. Take it out of the oven, brush with the egg white (to seal the pastry) and put it back into
the oven for 2 minutes.
11. Take the baking sheet with the tart pan on it out and lower the oven to 140C.
To make the filling:
1. Lightly beat the eggs and sugar together but do not create foam.
2. Mix in the lemon juice, beaten eggs and cream.
3. Mix well.
4. Sieve the mixture into a jug with a spout.
5. Add in all the zest and give it a good stir.
6. Put the baking sheet with the tart pan back into the oven, partly pull out the oven shelf and pour the
filling from the jug into the tart pan to almost the brim.
7. Very carefully slide the oven shelf back in and bake for 40 to 50 minutes (140C) until just set. The
mixture should still be a bit wobbly in the centre but will continue to firm up after it comes out of
the oven.
8. Remove and leave to cool but do not refrigerate just yet.
9. When cooled, dust with icing sugar before serving if you wish.
10. Best served on the day it is made.
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