Lemon Curd Tart with Olive Oil

I made this tart in part because I tend to like desserts that contain olive oil and because I wanted a good recipe for lactose-free lemon curd (so without cream, and with margarine instead of butter), to use in another recipe. I really liked this tart. As for the Engineer, he liked it much better than the macrobiotic version I recently tried. It’s true that the lemon taste is more pronounced, and it’s also much sweeter. He said that when he thinks of lemon tart, this is what he pictures. The crust recipe here is different from those I’ve tried before; there’s just barely enough dough to cover the tart pan, and the resulting crust is very crumbly.. You could replace it with a more traditional crust if you wish.

For the tart shell
2 Tbsp almonds with skins, toasted and cooled
¾ cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup confectioners’ sugar
pinch of fine sea salt
½ stick cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes
1 large egg yolk
3 ½ Tbsp fruity olive oil

For the lemon curd
3 large lemons
¾ cup granulated sugar
2 tsp cornstarch
2 whole large eggs plus 2 large yolks
½ stick unsalted margarine, cut into ½-inch cubes
2 Tbsp fruity olive oil

For the tart shell
Pulse almonds with flour, sugar, and sea salt to a fine powder in a food processor. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal with some small (roughly pea-size) butter lumps.

Add yolk and oil and pulse until just incorporated and a very soft dough has formed. Spread dough evenly over bottom and up side of a 9-inch round tart pan with a removable bottom. Chill until firm, about 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 425 °F, with rack in the middle position. Bake shell until golden brown all over, about 13 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely, about 30 minutes.




For the lemon curd
Grate enough zest from lemons to measure 1 Tbsp, then squeeze ¾ cup juice from lemons.

Whisk together lemon zest and juice, sugar, cornstarch, whole eggs, and yolks in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat, whisking constantly. Boil, whisking, 2 minutes.

Remove from heat and whisk in margarine and oil until smooth.

To assemble the tart
Pour the lemon curd into the cooled shell and chill until set, at least 2 hours. (The tart shell can be made 1 day ahead and kept, loosely covered, at room temperature. The assembled tart can be chilled up to 4 hours.)