Illusive lemon curd

My friend and student Neil, who lives in Lake Wylie, South Carolina was over visiting recently. I've talked about Neil previously – he's a great cook and his signature dish in recent times has been Orange Tiramisu – check out “Your secret weapon – Tiramisu Tweaks” 18 November 2018 for the recipe. I then gave him the recipe for the lemon version. However there's a problem, he can't find lemon curd where he lives in the USA.

Here's the answer :

Microwave Lemon Curd

Makes about 450g/1lb

115g/4oz butter, cubed

Finely grated rind and juice

of three large lemons

225g/8oz caster sugar

3 large eggs plus 1 egg yolk

Put the butter, lemon rind and juice in a large microwave-proof bowl. Cook on high for 3 minutes.

Add the sugar to the bowl and stir for 1 minute until it has almost dissolved. Return to the microwave and cook on high for 2 minutes, stirring every 1 minute.

Beat the eggs and the yolk together, then whisk into the lemon mixture, a little at a time.

Cook on medium (40% power), for 10-12 minutes, whisking every 2 minutes, until the curd thickens. You will find that your curd has white cords from the eggs – pour the curd through a sieve and discard before filling the jars.

Ladle into hot sterilized jars, cover and seal. When cool, store in the fridge. Use within 2 months.

Hints and tips coming next ...

TATT – method and hints and tips

Pre-heat oven 180 fan/200c/Gas 6.

Unroll your puff pastry sheet and cut into six circles, using a ring that is at least the same diameter as the tin – it can be slightly larger. Spoon the toffee apple mixture into your tins and then add a puff pastry circle, tucking it into the tin.

Bake for 25 minutes.

When you are ready to serve – I would suggest you use a dessert bowl – place it over the tin and flip it – ensuring you do so away from yourself.

Serve with clotted cream or ice cream – or both!

I've used these “toffee apples” as a base for a crumble with pecans but originally it belongs to the tarte tatin. If you have toffee apples going spare they are delicious warm over ice cream.

You can make individual servings, just the job for a supper or dinner party, or one large version. A safety note. I've seen cooks and chefs make a tarte tatin in a frying pan suitable for the oven. One slip when you're flipping and it could be very nasty so my advice would be treat yourself to the right piece of kit for the job.

Mine measures 22cms x 5.5cms or

9”x2¼” in old money!

It would make a change from apple pie or crumble after your Sunday lunch – hmm.

Before we move on from the portable pastries

This is the end of the portable pastries series, at least for a while, but just before we go I thought you might enjoy a speed treat of the sweet kind, using the PPS.

Toffee Apple Tarte Tatin

aka TATT

6-8 large Cox's apples, peeled, cored and sliced

115g unsalted butter

125g soft dark brown sugar

1 orange, zest and juice

One ready to use 1 x 320g puff pastry sheet.

6 individual circular tins measuring 10cms/4” in diameter.

Place the apples, butter, soft dark brown sugar, orange zest and juice into a large frying pan and cook for 10 minutes until tender.

If you forget to buy a fresh orange 4 tablespoons of pure orange juice is the equivalent amount from the whole fruit.

You can cook the apples ahead and freeze them, ready to use at your convenience.

Method up next …

Three Cheese Pastizzi Photos

Here they are : 

A perfect pillow of cheese and puff pastry

Two bits – gone!

Last week I was visiting my Sister, nickname Whizzer because she zooms everywhere. I showed her the photos of the pastizzi and she was intrigued, such much so that she asked for a copy of the recipe. Whizzer is a busy girl and doesn't have much spare time but immediately began making a shopping list for the following day. I suggested it might be a good idea to make half the quantity i.e. one puff pastry sheet. Whizzer isn't a lover of mozzarella but I do happen to know that she always has mature cheddar cheese in her fridge and so suggested she use it instead – always remember rules are meant to be broken.

After I got home I messaged saying let me know how you go when you make the pastries. An immediate response said … “they don't last very long! Very tasty, like you said I halved the quantity and replaced the mozzarella with vintage cheddar, tested one and to be sure tested another!” I replied saying that testing is crucial and as the cook it falls to you. “It's a good job I only made half the quantity!”

Don't like mushy peas – curried or otherwise?

Worry not, I have an alternative – cheese or rather three cheeses in a pastizzi. If like me you're a fan of cheese the ultimate combination has to be encased in puff pastry. A marriage made in heaven!

Lets not mess around, here's the recipe :

Three Cheese Pastizzi

for 20 pastries

2 x 320g puff pastry sheets – 10 per sheet

10cm/4” cutter

300g/12oz ricotta cheese

70g/2oz grated Mozzarella

40g/1oz Parmesan, finely grated

½ tsp of Dijon mustard

celery salt and black pepper

1 egg, beaten – half to add to the mixture

half to seal and egg wash

Mash the ricotta in a medium mixing bowl until it's smooth – use a fork. Season with the mustard, salt and black pepper, stir and add half the beaten egg – mix well. Cover and fridge until ready for use.

Take your sheets out of the fridge and allow them to warm up – you'll get a cracked and split sheet if you try to unroll straight away.

Roll out the sheet – initially you should get six circles – gather the remnants and re-roll for a further four.

Place a level tablespoon of mixture in the middle of each circle. Brush half the circle with the beaten egg and fold up to seal. Edge the seal with a pastry fork and then egg wash.

Pre-heat your oven 200fan/220c/Gas 7.

Bake the pastizzi for 20 minutes.

If you'd prefer to make ahead and freeze, place the uncooked pastizzi on a tray lined with baking paper. Freeze for 2/3 hours or until firm and then transfer to a strong freezer bag – store for up to a month.

To cook – Pre-heat your oven as above. Flour two baking trays and place the frozen pastizzi, egg wash and then bake for 20 minutes or until golden and cooked through.

The method of assembly is exactly as for the pea pastizzi so I'm not going to repeat it. Photos of the mixture et al that you haven't seen are up next.

Pastizzi bonus bits and the feedback

Pastizzi freeze very well. If you'd prefer this method then place the uncooked pastizzi on a tray lined with baking paper. Freeze for 2/3 hours or until firm and then transfer into a strong freezer bag. They will keep for up to a month – if they last that long!

To cook from frozen, pre-heat your oven as mentioned previously. Flour the two baking trays and place the frozen pastizzi, bake for 20 minutes or until golden.

It just so happened that my friend Kerry was with me when I took the pastizzi out of the oven so I enlisted a new veggie taste tester. Verdict – lovely, light as a feather. I'll take that.

Later on that day I popped in to see other friends, Joss and Leanne and delivered the same treat. Shortly after leaving them I received a text … “yummy scrum”. I'll take that too.

My friend Morag just loves a PPS … “I have discovered that a puff pastry sheet is not just for Christmas and making sausage rolls, it's for making pizza puffs and cheese and onion slices to gain brownie points with friends, pay in kind – not in cash”.

I think Morag is going to be a very happy girl!

If you want to produce savoury morsels quickly, whether for entertaining at home with drinks or, as we've been talking about of late, for picnic or portable food but fast, then pastizzi definitely fits the bill. The joy of using a puff pastry sheet is the big fat tick it gets for those of us who have a limited amount of time or, more to the point, no time at all!

I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Pastizzi Puff Pastry bake

More photos to help you :

Ready for the oven!

Pre-heat your oven 200fan/220c/Gas 7.

Bake the pastizzi for 20 minutes.

Here they are, fresh out of the oven and then cut in half – let them cool!

Ta dah – curried pea pastizzi – sounds much

better than pea pie!

Bonus bits and the feedback coming up.