I’ll give any recipe a try that combines pistachios and dessert. Today I have a classic lemon tart with a twist- a pistachio crust! The whole flat smelled so lovely whilst this was being prepared.
Lemon Tart with Pistachio Crust
(Adapted from Sift & Whisk)
Ingredients:
(For crust)
1/2 cup shelled pisatachios
1 1/2 cups of flour
1/2 cup of confectioner’s sugar
1/4 teaspoon of kosher salt
9 tablespoons of butter, chilled
1 large egg
(For filling)
2 lemons, rinsed
1 3/4 cups of sugar
1/2 cup of unsalted butter
4 large eggs
2 tablespoons of cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon of kosher salt
(For brulee top)
2 tablespoons of granulated sugar
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Spread the pistachios on a baking sheet and roast for 5 minutes until they are fragrant. Then remove them from the oven and grind them into a fine powder.
In a large bowl mix together the pistachio powder, flour, sugar and salt. Cream in the butter. Lastly add in the egg and blend until smooth. Take the dough out of the bowl and wrap in in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 2 hours.
When the 2 hours is over, roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface until it’s about 1/4” thick. Place the dough into your tart pan and press it in firmly to the sides and bottom of pan. If there’s any extra dough hanging over the edge, cut it off with a butter knife. Poke the bottom of the tart dough with a fork and freeze for 30 minutes.
After the dough has been freezing for 30 minutes, preheat the oven to 375 F. Butter a piece of foil on the shiny side that is the size of your tart. Press the foil (buttered side down) tightly against the crust. Bake for 20 minutes, then remove from the oven, remove the foil, and press down any bits of crust that are bubbling up with the back of a spoon. Bake for 5 more minutes uncovered. Then set it aside and allow the crust to cool to room temperature.
Whilst the crust is cooling start making your filling. Cut the ends off your lemons and then slice them thinly (removing any seeds). Add the lemons, butter and sugar to a food processor and process until the lemon is fully pureed. Then add the eggs, salt and cornstarch and process until you have a smooth batter.
Fill the crust with the lemon batter. (The tart crust and the lemon batter should be equal heights, don’t overfill.) Bake for 40 minutes, or until the edges are browning and the inside only jiggles slightly when you touch the tart pan. Allow the tart to cool.
When the tart is cool, sprinkle the top with your remaining sugar and brulee it with a kitchen torch. And finally, enjoy!
My lack of torch may have hindered my brulee-ing skill slightly but the oven grill wasn’t too shabby.
