Pinoli pine nut and lemon tart
The combination of lemon and pine nuts in this sweet tart is a classic.
Photo: Pinoli Pine Nuts
For The Pastry :
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300 g plain flour
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1 teaspoon baking powder
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100 g unsalted butter
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115 g caster sugar
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2 small eggs, beaten
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2 tablespoons water or vin santo (sweet wine)
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3 ½ tablespoons (40 g) Pinoli pine nuts
For the lemon curd filling:
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1 cup sugar
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Finely grated rind of 3 lemons
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½ cup lemon juice
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200 g unsalted butter, cut into cubes
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4 eggs lightly beaten
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3 tablespoons Pinoli pine nuts
To finish:
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1 egg yolk
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2 tablespoons milk
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3 tablespoons Pinoli pine nuts
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Icing sugar to dust
Method
Start by making the lemon curd by placing the sugar, lemon juice and rind and butter in a pot and bring to the boil. Heat a larger pot of water. Remove sugar and butter mixture from heat and whisk in the 4 eggs, place the pot over larger pot of simmering water and stir constantly until sauce is thickened, cool.
For the pastry, sift the flour and baking powder into the bowl of a food processor and add butter, pulse until mix resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add sugar, eggs and 3 ½ tablespoons raw pine nuts, pulse again until the mix comes together. Kneed the dough for 1-2 minutes on a lightly floured surface. Press into a thick disc and chill for 30 minutes. Roll out two thirds of the pastry and use to line a lightly greased 23cm loose-based tin.
Lightly toast 3 tablespoons pine nuts in a dry frying pan until golden and then cool. Assemble the tart, spooning in the cooled curd filling topped with the three tablespoons of toasted pine nuts. Roll out the remaining pastry and use to cover the filling, pressing the edges to seal. To finish, beat the egg yolk with the milk and brush over the pastry top, sprinkle over three tablespoons of raw pine nuts. Bake in a preheated oven at 180 oC for 40 minutes until well risen and golden. Dust with icing sugar and leave to cool for the filling to set. Serve in wedges with crème fraiche, yogurt or cream