Mini lemon tarts using the best short crust pastry

I have acquired a new recipe book, actually it is an encyclopedia - written by the doyen of Australian food writers - Margaret Fulton. A lovely birthday gift from my Wellington family.
When I have time, I pour over it most days. I have uncovered some tremendous ideas and hints to improve my preparation, cooking and presentation of food. In a few words, this bible is an absolute gem! 

One morning I set about making a few lemon tarts for our hard working painter. To my dismay I discovered I didn't have short crust pasty in my freezer, what to do! 
.....I turned to Margaret for inspiration.
Her book has heaps of recipes for short crust pastry. Being an old fashioned sort of girl I chose the simplest one, it brought back lovely memories of 'Homecraft' classes at high school. Yes, there were easier and quicker choices in Margaret's book, but this time I chose not to use them.
This recipe is making pastry the old fashioned way. Unfortunately we don't have a marble top but it explains all the other right steps to ensure the best result for your pastry. And I found this pastry particularly nice as it was not sweet.
Plain Shortcrust Pastry - Margaret Fulton
Can be used for savoury pies, pastries etc.
225g (8oz) plain flour
pinch of salt
90g (3oz) chilled butter (diced)
about 3 tbsp iced water
squeeze of lemon juice
Sift flour and salt into a bowl
Add cold diced butter. Rub into flour using thumbs and tips of fingers ( I used my pastry cutter to get it started), lifting your hands above the bowl to aerate the mixture - until it looks like coarse breadcrumbs.
Mix water and juice and add a tbsp of liquid at a time using a round ended knife. When dough starts to cling together use your fingers to form into a ball. If needed, sprinkle in a little more liquid to dampen any mixture in the bowl and using the ball to gather up bits of dough. Dough should leave the bowl clean.
Place on floured board and knead lightly using the the heel of your hand to form a smooth dough.
Wrap in gladwrap and chill for at least 30 minutes.
Roll pastry into the shape you require, cut out tart shapes and place in (lightly greased) tin. Prick bottom of tart shell lightly with a fork.
Chill again for 15 minutes.
Bake in a hot oven 230°C or 450°F for six minutes then check, if they have puffed up just lightly push down with the back of a spoon then bake for a few more minutes until they are cooked and light brown. While still warm place about a spoonful of lemon curd in each tart. (Please see my blog for lemon curd recipe). Allow to cool.
I ended up with about two dozen lovely mini lemon tarts - perfect with a cup of tea or coffee. But the recipe would also make enough dough to line a 20 - 23 cm (8-9inches) pie plate of flan ring.
It was absolutely the best pastry I have ever made (and tasted) and I felt quite pleased with myself.

While mixing the dough I was thinking of my cooking tools. I inherited the pastry knife from my late mother and my daughter rescued an old (but in good nick) pastry cutter from a charity shop, my original one from my 1970's 'hope chest' was no longer useable. It made me wonder who will want my kitchen drawer of useful bits and pieces when I go. I would like to think my family will want to keep some of them. As they say, one woman's junk is another woman's treasure. I think of my Mum every time I use her well worn bone handled knife. I like to think they will remember me in the same way.

rub in butter until it looks like coarse breadcrumbs

make a well in the centre and add liquid a little at a time

The end result - I love lemon tarts!

What summer and other things?

This blog is about a number of random things - mostly simple things that have made me happy lately.
It has not been the greatest summer here in Welly, and apart from a couple of really hot days it has been mostly warm - ish, along with the odd day or two without any raging winds.
So almost on cue at the end of summer my Isle of Capri tomato plant sprung into action. I picked three lovely ripe tomatoes. We plan to eat them today in a very ceremonious way.
The plant is laden with many more that I am willing on to ripen before it gets too cold and dark.

There are about 20 more tomatoes to ripen - yay!

I planted beetroot in my garden, not a great crop but managed to winkle a few to put into a salad. This recipe is one of those random ones, roast this and that, add a wonderful grain or two, add a bit of parsley, squeeze in some lemon, drizzle extra virgin olive oil and top it off with roasted pumpkin and sunflower seeds and viola! You have lunch made for a week.....Yum!

Roast beetroot and parsnip, black rice and quinoa salad

I have blogged before about our lovely old lemon tree. In spite of (some) branches covered in lichen, it keeps on producing. This year we have a bumper crop. And what do you do with them all - you make lemon muffins with crunchy sugar lemon topping, a large roasted lemon cake and of course a jar or two of lemon curd. Wonderful!

Our magic lemon tree

My fav roasted lemon cake - gorgeous with yoghurt

And finally my latest 'find'. Last week I helped move office for a charity I volunteer for. They did not want this old but lovely 1960 - 70's? telephone table. Score! I handed over a generous monetary donation and squeezed the table into my little car before they could change their mind. However, I now have a bit of a problem - we really have nowhere to put it in our house. Every bit of space is already occupied. And hubby does not share my love of such furniture. Clearly I have a lot of work to do to convince him otherwise.

My latest little find

Asparagus, Pea and Lemon Risotto

Here is a simple little gem I made last week. On a night when I had no energy (and no real longing) to cook, I went searching for an inspiration in the fridge -  all I found  was a bunch of asparagus!
'I feel like something made with brown rice, said the man of the house'.
Ok, so that part was easy. One cup of rice and three cups of water into the rice cooker - switched on, done. Thinking what goes with asparagus I came up with peas and a freshly picked lemon. What transpired was a gorgeous, buttery, lemony, risotto that rocked our socks off.
It's often said, the simple meals can the ones we treasure the most and the ones we want to eat again.
Asparagus, Pea and Lemon Risotto
1 bunch of asparagus - steamed until just tender - smothered in butter - chopped in half
1 cup of frozen peas (cook in salted water steaming the asparagus)
1 large lemon - zest and juice
1 cup of brown rice cooked and kept warm in the rice cooker. 
Gently stir in the vegetables and lemon zest and juice.
Taste for seasoning then serve immediately.
Serves 2 greedy, hungry people!

A few of my favourite things (lately)

I have been having fun in the kitchen utilising gifts of produce and using the bountiful crop of lemons from our lovely old tree. I made Quince paste last year for the first time (a recipe by Stephanie Alexander). I have since discovered a number of recipe variations but how it turns out really depends on the ripeness and/or age of your fruit.
Making Quince Paste is a dangerous labour of love but I am hooked on the stuff. If you are not careful you can get 'spattered' with hot paste. To prevent burns I wear a tea towel wrapped around my hand and arm when stirring the mix! My 2012 batch lasted for about a year ( kept in an airtight container in the fridge) and still tasted great. Superb with Blue Vein or any strong cheddar.
I have made Lemon Curd again this year too (about five medium size jars), adding a little more juice to the mix to give it more of a 'tang'. Ummmm, I seemed to have developed a naughty habit of digging a spoon into the jar when I need a sugary/sour'y fix, I really must stop it.......
If you have pastry in the freezer, little lemon merinque pies are so quick and easy to make. You could blind bake a few small pastry shells ahead of time, they will keep fresh in an airtight container for a few days. When dessert is required just spoon some Lemon Curd over the pastry base, whisk your merinque, spread over the curd and bake at 200 degrees C for 10-15mins and viola! your dessert is done.
The Amalfi lemons are glorious little cups of tastiness, lovely as a small starter or (as I used them last night) as a garnish along with chicken pate, served with homemade crostini (you could have instant cheese on toast this way!). You can make these ahead of time and they are so easy to do. If you wish to try these recipes they are in previous posts on my blog.
Here is just a glimpse of these recent favs

Take a dozen 'knarly' quinces

to make into a huge tray of quince paste

Lemon merinque pies - using one of my jars of Lemon Curd

Amalfi lemons (sitting on lemon leaves) - divine as a small starter

Just because I felt like them - tomatoes ready for slow roasting - delish!

Preserved lemons for Paula

Preserving lemons happens to be one of my favourite pastimes. This year our large old tree is laden and ready to ripen and I can't wait to get preserving. I have saved all my large jars in anticipation of the event.
My friend Paula called me wanting to know my tried and true recipe for preserving lemons and was it on my blog? I thought it was but upon further investigation Paula was proved right and I was wrong, so here is the recipe that never fails to make me happy. They are inexpensive and effortless to create and they can make that extra difference to so many dishes.

Preserved Lemons

(from Made in Morocco – Julie le Clerc Pub 2004)

Pick heaps of lemons. 

Sterilise a number of jars (to sterilise lids place in boiling water).

Juice a pile of lemons (you are going to use the juice to fill the space in your jars)

Take clean lemons and cut into quarters without cutting all the way through (leaving the base intact).

Cram coarse sea or rock salt generously into the cuts of each lemon.

Pack the reshaped lemons into an appropriately sized jar, pressing down well. (I use tongs to do this and my little wooden pastry shaper to push them down as it is easy to burn yourself). 

Top with a little more salt (don't be afraid to be generous with the salt) and fill the remaining space in jar with lemon juice. 

Seal the jar and store in a cool dark place for one month before using.

Shake the jar every day for the first week.

Remove lemons as required with a fork so as not to contaminate the remaining lemons.

Before using, rinse lemons with water to remove excess saltiness before adding to food, remove the lemon pith before using preserved skin.

Refrigerate once opened.

Lemon muffins with crunchy lemon sugar topping

Quiet moments can jolt your memory of lovely things.
It was a very busy baking week. I wanted to make four different cakes, three for a fundraiser for Bellyful and one for our builders working very hard on our house extension. I used the baking opportunity to try a number of new recipes to add to this  blog. On Wednesday one of my Old Girls gave me an 'All in one Cake' recipe. It was a cake her children used to bake, it never fails. It appealed to me because you could change the cake according to the flavourings you added, e.g. chocolate, lemon, orange or coffee.  So I decided on a coffee one. I will experiment a little more and will post later.
Catherine's recipe and story reminded me of an Eggless Chocolate Cake recipe my daughter used to make (from the NZ Radio and TV Cooking Book, I have talked about this book before, it served me well in the 1970's). When I opened to the page it made me smile. It was covered in cocoa powder and grease stains which has made it almost impossible to read the print. I am sure this mess was not made by me but by my dear daughter who (in later years) made it every time she needed to bake a cake (which was often, think birthdays and teachers morning teas!). The reason - quickly made in one bowl and she lovvves chocolate. It has stood the test of time and I will make sure I make the cake again and post this recipe too.
I was also given some lovely homegrown lemons so decided whatever else I made for the builders that week it had to include lemons. The quickest and easiest morning tea baking to make (when you are pressed for time) are muffins. So muffins it was.
I  copied this recipe some time ago but I didn't note the direct link, so my apologies to Kate's Kitchen.... It is a little gem. Apart from its simplicity I like this muffin recipe for the gorgeous crunchy sour topping.

Lemon muffins with crunchy sugar topping   - from Kate’s Kitchen 2012

2 cups self-raising flour

¾ cup sugar

75g butter

1 cup milk

1 egg

Grated zest and 1/4c lemon juice from a large lemon

and  for topping - 1/4cup lemon juice and 1/4cup of sugar

 Melt the butter, add milk, beaten egg and lemon zest

Beat with a fork to combine.

Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients, don’t over mix – just gently fold to combine

Divide mixture between 12 greased muffin tins

Bake at 200°C (or 190 for fan oven) for 10 mins  

Topping

Stir together lemon juice and sugar, drizzle over muffins as soon as they come out of oven.

Prick top of muffin with a toothpick so it soaks in.

Remove from tins after only a few minutes as the syrup can make them stick to the tins.

Sharing the kitchen bench with the builders

To make them even' posher' (is that a word?) for your morning teas, eat served on a lovely china plate using a cake fork, with a little Greek plain yoghurt on the side.

Roasted Lemon Cake

I had this cake recipe carefully filed away and being a lover of lemon flavoured cooking, I recently decided to give it a try.
It is a total winner and it looks pretty posh too! Today I made it for the 5th time in about as many weeks. It seems to appeal to most as no-one I know dislikes lemons. ( In the process of collecting my fruit I've stripped our lemon tree bare but thankfully little green ones are starting to appear).
It is a great dessert but it would be just as fabulous as a special cake for that special afternoon tea.
The original recipe included a lavender syrup to drizzle/serve on top but I decided it was so divine the way it was I would not include the syrup.
At first, I methodically thinly sliced my lemons - by hand, and it took ages- but I eventually caught on that this labourious task could be done by my Kitchen Whizz in super quick time.
Also, each time I have made this cake I've varied what sugar I used, raw sugar gives a more intense flavour but castor sugar is fine too. One time I ran out of ground almonds so used unblanched raw ones and used my Kitchen Whizz with the 'grinding nuts attachment' to grind the almonds into almond meal. This gave the mixture and the final product a sort of wholemeal look which was a nice variance on the recipe.
I made the cake again today as tonight we have dear friends from Napier coming for dinner, I know they are going to enjoy this as much as we do......

 Roasted Lemon Cake

Cuisine - Celia Harvey – 20/8/2009

Lemons

4 large unwaxed lemons

6 tbsp sugar

 For the Cake

100grams flour

1 tsp baking powder

100 grams ground almonds

175 grams softened butter

175 grams caster sugar

4 eggs, beaten

Method

For the lemons

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line a spring form cake tin (23cm) with baking paper and butter or spray the sides well.

Thinly slice the lemons (I use the slicing plane on my Kitchen Whizz). Take out any pips.

Place the lemon slices on a baking dish, sprinkle with ½ the sugar and roast for about 10 minutes until lightly caramelised around the edges.

Arrange ¾ of the lemon slices in the base of the tin. And sprinkle the remaining sugar over.

For the cake

Reduce the oven to 160°C. Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl and add the almonds.

Beat the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy. Mix the eggs in one at a time, sprinkle in a little of the flour mix as you go to stop it splitting. Fold in the rest of the flour mixture, chop the remaining lemon pieces and fold them in with any juice from the roasting dish.

Spread the batter over the roasted lemons in the tin. Bake on a rack in the centre of the oven for 40 minutes. (Watch and cover the top with tinfoil to prevent it browning too much). Leave to cool for 15 minutes before turning out of the tin.

Serve with cream.

Roasted Lemon Cake placed on a pedestal where it belongs

Newsflash!  As a Food Blogger I have been asked to sample the new Whittakers White Rasberry Chocolate - oh the joy when it arrived in the post. My feedback will be placed soon, I haven't quite finished the block so more time and much more deliberation is required.....