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A special treat using special fruit

Recipe: Blueberry tarts topped with lemon curd

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED MAY 10, 2020

Blueberry tart topped with homemade lemon curd -- what a treat! (Photos: Debbie Arrington)

As any California gardener who grows them knows, blueberries are special. When a bush finally starts producing, they're like precious little sapphires. That inspires an equally special presentation.

Homegrown blueberries deserve special treatment.

Tarts are round showcases for these garden gems. This version, adapted from the classic "Joy of Cooking," shows off the fresh berries like the treasures they are.

Instead of topping with plain custard or whipped cream, I chose a vibrant lemon curd from the Southern cookbook by Ronni Lundy, "Butter Beans to Blackberries." In her book, she serves fresh blueberries topped with lemon curd and cornmeal cookies on the side. That's a simple alternative if tarts seem too complicated -- or it's too hot to turn on the oven.

Blueberry tarts with lemon curd
Makes 6 tarts

Ingredients:

Vienna pastry dough (see recipe) or 6 pre-made tart shells
1 pint blueberries, washed
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Lemon curd (see recipe)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Prepare pastry shells and bake for 8 minutes. Remove from oven.

In a large bowl, mix together blueberries, sugar and lemon juice.

Spoon sugared blueberries in a single layer into each tart shell.

Reduce heat to 375 degrees F. Return filled tarts to oven. Loosely top with foil to prevent crusts from burning, if needed. Bake for 12 minutes or until blueberries start to release juice.

Remove from oven and let cool.

Remove tarts from tins, if necessary. Serve with lemon curd.

Vienna pastry
Makes 6 to 8 tart shells

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled butter
4 ounce soft cream cheese

Instructions:

In a large bowl, sift together flour and salt. With a pastry blender or two knives, cut in butter and cream cheese. (If needed, add 1 tablespoon water.)
When well blended, wrap dough in foil and chill in freezer for at least 30 minutes or until ready to use.
Preheat over to 450 degrees F.
Using parchment paper or plastic wrap, roll out dough 1/8-inch thick. Transfer dough to tart pans. Prick dough with fork in several places.
Bake tart shells for 8 minutes or until brown. (Watch

carefully!)

Remove from oven.

Recipe adapted from "Joy of Cooking" by Irma Rombauer and Marion Rombauer Becker (Bobbs-Merrill, 1975 edition)

Lemon curd
Makes about 1-1/4 cups

Ingredients:

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (2 large lemons)
2 tablespoons lemon zest
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick)
1 whole egg
2 egg yolks

Instructions:

In the top of a double boiler over boiling water, combine lemon juice, zest, sugar and butter. Stir often as butter melts and sugar dissolves.
Over medium high heat, let lemon mixture cook for 2 minutes, stirring often; little bubbles start to form along the edges.
In a separate bowl, beat together whole egg and egg yolks.
Remove lemon mixture from heat. Add half of lemon mixture to beaten eggs, whisking to blend. Whisk this mixture into the remaining lemon mixture in top of double boiler. Return to heat.
Cook until curd thickens, stirring often; about 5 minutes. Let cool. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Recipe adapted from "Butter Beans to Blackberries: Recipes from the Southern Garden" by Ronni Lundy (North Point Press, 1999).

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RECIPE

A recipe for preparing delicious meals from the bounty of the garden.

Keywords:

baking recipes lemon gardening Sacramento farmers markets recipe backyard produce produce management blueberries

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Garden Checklist for week of May 19

Temperatures will be a bit higher than normal in the afternoons this week. Take care of chores early in the day – then enjoy the afternoon. It’s time to smell the roses.

* Plant, plant, plant! It’s prime planting season in the Sacramento area. If you haven’t already, it’s time to set out those tomato transplants along with peppers and eggplants. Pinch off any flowers on new transplants to make them concentrate on establishing roots instead of setting premature fruit.

* Direct-seed melons, cucumbers, summer squash, corn, radishes, pumpkins and annual herbs such as basil.

* Harvest cabbage, lettuce, peas and green onions.

* In the flower garden, direct-seed sunflowers, cosmos, salvia, zinnias, marigolds, celosia and asters.

* Plant dahlia tubers. Other perennials to set out include verbena, coreopsis, coneflower and astilbe.

* Transplant petunias, marigolds and perennial flowers such as astilbe, columbine, coneflowers, coreopsis, dahlias, rudbeckia and verbena.

* Keep an eye out for slugs, snails, earwigs and aphids that want to dine on tender new growth.

* Feed summer bloomers with a balanced fertilizer.

* For continued bloom, cut off spent flowers on roses as well as other flowering plants.

* Don’t forget to water. Seedlings need moisture. Deep watering will help build strong roots and healthy plants.

* Add mulch to the garden to help keep that precious water from evaporating. Mulch also cuts down on weeds. But don’t let it mound around the stems or trunks of trees or shrubs. Leave about a 6-inch to 1-foot circle to avoid crown rot or other problems.

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