March 20, 2011 - 4:37pm
A Sour Winter
BY JORDAN KRISTOPIK
- Citrus fruits are in-season for the winter months.
Picture this: it’s freezing cold, you’re covered in wet slush from the street, your backpack is weighing you down, and more snow is forecasted for tomorrow. What dessert would make this situation better? If it were me, I can think of nothing I want more than something hot and decadent from the oven. I don’t care what—as long as it’s warm and fudgy and gooey and chocolaty. A cake, a soufflé, brownies, pudding, anything. Just give it to me.
This brings me to winter’s biggest contradiction: lemons. Lemons are in-season and at their most flavorful during these dark, winter months. Never, ever do I crave tart and light desserts when I could be inhaling decadent, warm chocolate. But after reading recipe after recipe for lemon tarts, meringues, and even ice cream, I felt a little tingling to make use of this winter fruit.
Over spring break, I went home with a goal: make a lemon tart, which would require me to make my first ever lemon curd. Sounds fancy, but it’s very simple. Nothing but eggs, butter, sugar and lemon cooked together to form something of a custard. The only difficult part is to not scramble the eggs while cooking.
The crust I chose for my tart was based on a lemon shortbread cookie, so it was nothing short of delicious. After pouring the curd into the tart crust, I let it set in the fridge for a few hours. And after the first bite, I was converted. It was rich and dense just like my favorite chocolate desserts, but with a little tang. The freshness of the lemons really was noticeable.
I’m not sure if the tart just reminded me of a tall glass of lemonade in the summer, but who cares? If you need to get out of a dark, winter slump, make an (in-season!) lemon dessert tonight.
Check out the recipe here: http://yummysupper.blogspot.com/2009/12/meyer-lemon-tart-with-lemon-past...
