Lemon tartelettes with apricot mousse and Lemon Curd

Oh sunny, sunny day.

Was at a local market lately and I saw the most sunny lemons I ever had - they literally smiled at me and screamed "Buy us!". Maybe they should not be so excited. 

They ended up being peeled, crushed, cutted and baked. 

But hey - I am not a monster. To make their life little sweeter I give them sugar. Lot of sugar. 

I saw that they really clicked - the perfect pair - sugar and tart lemons. I smell longterm marriage starting here.

Lemon tartelettes:

(recipe for dough from polish food magazine Kuchnia, 07/2010, make about 30 small, one-size tarts)

15 dag of cold butter cutted into small pieces

2 cups of flour

3 tablespoon of sugar

1 teaspoon of salt

1/4 cup of cold water

Apricot mousse

Lemon curd 

Preheat oven 200C/390F

In a bowl mix flour with sugar and salt. Ad butter and make something like a big-pieces grit. Now slowly add cold water and hand make dough. Cool for about 30 minutes. Roll thin - about 1 inch. Place in a tins cut with a for to prevent rising too much. Bake for about 7-10 minutes until lightly gold. Take off make 160C/320F oven heat. Pour one teaspoon of apricot mousse in a tin and cover with lemon curd. Bake for about 10 minutes - curd should be still the same color but more thick than a fresh one.

I also try unbaked curd and mousse and it work nice if you serve your tartelettes in an hour or two. But for longer time use baked recipe.

(See the dark something on mine ? I replace apricot mousse in some tarts - I use homemade crunchy walnut butter - also nice combination)

Lemon curd

1 egg

2 eggs yolk

150 gram of sugar 

3 lemons - peeled and juiced

2 tablespoon of butter

Wash your lemons. Peel them and juice. In a heavy bottom pan whisk an egg, egg yolks and sugar together. You could use hand blender but not overdo it - you just want a sugar to "disappear". Add lemon juice and peeled skin.
Place in a pan over a small heat and stir mixture until you see that it thicken. Mixture should be tick enough that hen placed on a spoon it does not run down easily. Take off from a heat and add butter. Place in a jar and cool. You may use it not only for our lovely tartelettes but also eat on a toast or whatever.

Apricot mousse

500 gram of apricot

2 tablespoon of fresh lemon or orange juice

100 gram sugar

Cut apricots in a half and take off a stone. Place in a pan, add juice and start to heat over a very small heat. After 1-2 minutes when they soften a little add sugar. Make a little bigger heat and stir from time to time baking it 10-12 minutes. You should have end up with soft pulp with only little apricots pieces. Now you can either left it like that or blend if you want smoother mousse. If it is too watery place on a heat for another 3-5 minutes until water dry off more. Take off from a heat and cool.

Plesniak ( Polish Rustic Pie with Jam filling )

                This has to be one of my favorite cakes. In my brain it has easy connection with my Grandma. She made it many times. Especially in hot august, when air was full of smell of sweet apples, worm wind was playing with our mind bringing pictures of sweet Toscany and unexpected storms are strong, quick and refreshing.

Grandma is a very good cook and wonderful baker of many pies, but among others this pie is a winner. 

White tart pastry, next level of sour jam, meringue made from sweet egg white beated until it will be stiff and topping made from "black" pastry. It is truly amazing. In many homes people would add hazelnuts or walnuts as a additional level (after jam , before meringue). I bake it and you know what? - it was very worm day today with this wind - it must mean something. I think I smelled summer...

Plesniak

3 cups of flour 

200 grams of butter

2 tablespoon + 100-120 grams of caster sugar

4 eggs (yolks and whites separated)

pinch of salt

2 tablespoon of cocoa powder ( if you can use black one, use it )

250-270 grams (one jar) of some sour jam ( i use black currant one)

optional - 2 apples (for baking I usually use some sour ones)

Preheat oven 180C/320f.

Chop cold butter with flour, 2 tablespoon of caster sugar, pinch of salt and 4 egg yolks. Quickly knead dough, it it will be too brittle or too loose - add 1 tablespoon of sour cream. 

Divide it into two parts (you can also divide into tree parts and made two layers of white pastry and one black). Add cocoa powder into one part and knead. Form the balls and cool them in a fridge for about 30 minutes. 

Now time for apples if you use them. Chop them nicely and fry a little on butter (they shouldn't be over-fried, not like form Applepie). You can add some cinnamon. Cool down.

Beat the whites stiff, adding at the end sugar. Beat until you get nice meringue, but not too stiff.

Take a baking mold (classic 24 cm * 32 cm would work) and place bright part of dough on a bottom. Spread a thick layer of jam (if you use nuts, sprinkle them onto jam). Now layer of apples. Now spread egg whites on them. End with black part of dough grated on them. Bake for 35-40 minutes.

Rustic Chocolate Tart

                       When I was little I had amazing chance to spend every holiday in a countryside. With my sister we could play all day long, not care about anything. I felt safe and careless. We had no idea about a real world out there, and it seems to be the right of childhood. Those days were also strong connected with food. We had as many fresh veggies and fruits as we like. Fresh milk take straight from grandma's cow. Real eggs. Those dishes that make us happy. Thick slice of old-fashioned bread, just with homemade butter and salt. Leftover dinner potatoes, fried later in the evening for supper, eaten together with two forks from one pan.

Those things were super simple, but we didn't know or need anything else. 

There are few things in culinary world that are take for granted. First - the simpler dish the best way to show the real taste of a product, and second - that anything made with chocolate is better than the same dish without it (of course I exaggerate, bu you get the idea). That's why this pie is so amazing. It incorporate simple pleasure and pure taste. Rich, gooey filling with crispy and light crust. It doesn't need any decoration, any things inside....no, it is pure perfection.




Rustic Chocolate Tart 


For crust:
400 grams (1 and 1/2 cup) of flour
200 grams ( in Poland - one stick ) of butter 
100-120 grams of sugar
1 real egg yolk ( those with 0 or 1 number printed on them )
optional : 1 tablespoon of thick cream ( I used 18% ) 


For filling:
200grams of good chocolate ( Godiva would be wonderful, but I ended up with surprising good Milk bars)
3 tablespoon of good, unsweetened cocoa
100ml of sweet cream
1 big egg or 2 small
Pinch of sea salt
optional : use some muscavado sugar if it's too strong taste for you. I didn't.


Preheat oven 180C/350F.
Mix four and cold butter to make crumbs ( by hands ). Beat egg yolk with sugar until it change color from yellow to more white shade. Add egg mixture to your crumbs and if it still too dry - add cream. Roll it in a circle and put in your tin tart. Cool in a fridge for half an hour.
Make filling. Put some deep pot with about 2 inches of water on a heat and bring it to boil. Now take some bowl and put it on the pot. Break chocolate into a small pieces and put them in a bowl. Stir occasionally until they totally blend. Add cocoa. Now pour sweet cream inside. Now, very important, key ingredient - sea salt. It change your filling completely. Playing with your mouth and showing whole different level of chocolate sweetness.
The last point is to beat egg in a cup and gradually add some chocolate. Just add one teaspoon and beat in a cup. Then another, and another, and another. Continue it until the egg mixture will be warm enough, so when you add it in a bowl of chocolate-cream mix, you will not end up with chocolate scramble eggs (which also could be fantastic, but it's not a point today). Take you crust from he fringe. Pour filling mixture on it and bake for 40 minutes or until you will see that a base is browning too much. Cool a little. Serve with just a spoon of thick, sweet cream and small cup of espresso coffee.

Chickpea Tart with Sauerkraut ( polish sour, picked cabbage )

    

                 I love tarts. I mean, seriously, what is better than comforting slice of warm pie with your favorite filling? And as i love sweet ones, i am the biggest sucker for savory tarts. Onions, broccoli, leek - you name it, i have it. But this time I was little bored by making classic pastry and, since I have one can of my beloved chickpea, I though why not to try something different. I also used pickled cabbage with mushrooms and tomatoes. But you can really use anything for filling. I just suggesting something spicy since pastry is quite bland. 

Chickpea Tart filled Sauerkraut with mushrooms and tomatoes:


For Crust:
1 can of Chickpea ( also known as Garbanzo beans ) - 240 gram of drained and pureed peas
1 tablespoon of butter
about 2 or 3 big tablespoons of flour ( i use rice flour )
1 egg yolk
pinch of salt and pepper
optional - 1 tablespoon of sour cream to make your pastry smoother and easier to roll out


For Filling:
250 gram of Sour Cabbage ( Sauerkraut )
2 big tomatoes
5-6 boletus
1 small onion 
1 tablespoon of butter
1 teaspoon of cumin
optional - some red pepper powder, or even chilli powder

Preheat you oven 180C/350F.

          Start with the filling. Melt butter on deep frying pan. Chop nicely your onion and put in it. Heat until it starts to become see-through and little sweet (not until golden brown). Add cumin. Now, chop your cabbage and pour with boiled water to make it less, well..., sour. Drain quite good and put onto your onion. Pan-fry for few minutes until you smell gorgeous smell. Add chopped tomatoes. Heat long enough until filling starts caramelizing and become little runny. Take from the heat and give it time to cool down.

         Now time for the pastry. You can make it in food processor but i like to be old fashioned. Plus you can work your biceps. Mix your pureed chickpeas, butter and yolk until it will be smooth. Add enough flour  until you feel that pastry is good for rolling. Yes, I know it's hard to tell for newbies but you'll see - you will know when your pastry has enough flour and starts to be too dry (don't panic - you can always add some sour cream to make it smooth). Form into a ball and put in you fringe for about 5 minutes. Now - on a lightly floured work surface roll the pastry 5 mm thick and cut into two parts (although one can be bigger). Make bottom and sides from one part (bigger) and put your cooled filling on it, take second part of crust and cover the filling. Cut few cuts around and place into heated oven. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until it golden brown.

Eat straight away or cool down and take it for a picnic. Taste great with some rocket salad. And some spring sun in your face.