Lemon Curd Tart (aka, lemonade pudding pie)

Feeling spring-like (and lemons were REALLY cheap at Kroger) I felt like making lemon curd tart from the Alice Waters book. Chris said it sounded not so appetizing, so I redubbed it lemonade pudding pie.

Curd/Pudding:
Makes 2 cups

Wash and dry:4 lemons

Grate the zest of one of the lemons on the small holes of a grater. Juice the lemons; there should be about ½ cup juice.

Beat until just mixed:
2 eggs
3 egg yolks
2 tablespoons milk
1/3 cup sugar
¼ teaspoon salt (omit if using salted butter)

Stir in the lemon juice and zest and add:
6 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces.

Cook the mixture in a small nonreactive heavy pan, stirring constantly, over medium heat until it is thick enough to coat a spoon. Do not boil or the eggs will curdle. When thick, pour into a bowl or glass jars to cool. Cover and refrigerate.

Variations: With their sweeter juice and perfumed peel, Meyer lemons make an especially good curd.

Tart/Pie:
Fill a pre-baked 9-inch tart shell (I used a non-pre-baked graham cracker store bought pie shell since I don't have any tart pans) with the 2-cups lemon curt (aka lemonade pudding). Smooth out the curd/pudding and bake in a 375 degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until curd is set.

RESULTS: Delicious. Tart. Lemony.

One thing is I don't know how one tells when the curd is "set". It was still jiggly and seemed pretty-unset when I finally gave up and pulled it out of the oven after 25 minutes, but when it cooled it was perfectly firm. So I don't know what to tell you. The other thing is that when I was cooking the curd itself over the stove, it thickened in, literally, 5 seconds. I was stirring, stirring, stirring for a few minutes and BAM, suddenly it was thick. I guess the eggs just suddenly all got to the right temperature. Just something to keep in mind. Don't walk away from this one!