By Yotam Ottolenghi
- Total Time
- About 1 hour, plus chilling
- Rating
- 4(226)
- Notes
- Read community notes
These small tarts, inspired by a mojito, are the perfect celebratory end to a meal: refreshing, light and boozy. If you don’t have a spice grinder, finely chop the mint for the final step of the curd and then crush it in a pestle and mortar with the rum before adding to the curd. The aim is for the mixture to be as fine as possible, almost like a paste or like pesto, so that it’s fine enough to turn the curd slightly greener, rather than just fleck it with mint. A touch of parsley makes the green even more vibrant. If you want to work ahead, you can make the pastry dough a day in advance. The curd will keep in the fridge for up to a week; the vibrancy of the mint will fade a little, but it will still be fine. Bake the pastry on the day you are serving, though, and serve as soon as possible after the rum is poured over the tart.
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Ingredients
Yield:12 tarts
- 1cup/150 grams all-purpose flour (plain flour), more for rolling out dough
- 6tablespoons/80 grams cold unsalted butter, diced
- 1tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon/20 grams granulated or superfine sugar (caster sugar)
- ¼teaspoon salt
- ¼teaspoon white wine vinegar
- 2tablespoons ice water
- ½cup/120 milliliters lime juice (from about 5 to 6 limes), plus the zest of 2 limes, cut in wide strips, avoiding bitter white pith
- ⅔cup/120 grams granulated or superfine sugar (caster sugar)
- 1packed cup/25 grams mint leaves, plus 12 small mint leaves (or regular leaves, shredded just before using) for garnish
- 2tablespoons dark rum, plus 1 tablespoon for serving
- 6parsley leaves
- 2large eggs plus 5 large egg yolks
- 2teaspoons cornstarch (corn flour)
- 7tablespoons/100 grams cold unsalted butter, diced
- 1tablespoon Demerara sugar
For the Pastry
For the Curd
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (12 servings)
253 calories; 15 grams fat; 9 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 5 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 25 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 14 grams sugars; 4 grams protein; 67 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
Make the pastry: Place flour, butter, sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse a few times, until mixture is the consistency of fine bread crumbs, then, with the machine on, slowly add vinegar and ice water. Process for a few seconds, until pastry starts to come together, then dump the dough onto a clean surface. (It will be very sandy.) Gather and pat the dough into a disc that is roughly 1 inch/3 centimeters thick. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour, or overnight.
Step
2
While the pastry chills, make the curd. First, make the lime syrup: Bring lime juice and granulated or superfine sugar to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes, swirling frequently, until sugar has melted, and then boil for another minute. Remove from heat, add lime zest, along with a generous ⅓ cup/10 grams mint leaves, and set aside for 10 minutes to infuse.
Step
3
While the syrup cools, make the herb paste: Pour 2 tablespoons rum into a spice grinder with the parsley and remaining scant ⅔ cup/15 grams of the mint. Pulse for about 10 seconds, until a paste forms, scraping down the sides of the work bowl and pulsing and/or shaking the machine again, if necessary. Set aside. (Alternately, you can whirl the herbs in a small food processor until chopped and then reduce the mixture to a paste in a mortar and pestle. Or, finely chop the herbs on a cutting board and, adding a small amount of rum at a time, work the mixture into a paste with the edge of a large knife.)
Step
4
Strain lime syrup into a large heatproof bowl; squeeze the leaves and zest to extract as much flavor as possible and then discard. In a separate large bowl, whisk together 2 whole eggs, 5 yolks and the cornstarch until no lumps remain, and then stir into the cooled lime syrup.
Step
5
Add scant 1 inch/2 centimeters water to a medium saucepan, bring to a simmer over high heat and reduce the heat to medium. Place the bowl of eggs and syrup over the pan of gently simmering water and whisk continuously for 6 to 8 minutes, or until you have a thick, mousselike curd. Add butter and stir for an additional minute, or just until butter has melted, then remove from heat and set the curd aside to cool for about 10 minutes. Stir reserved herb paste into the curd, cover the surface directly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, until completely cool.
Step
6
On a lightly floured work surface, tap the chilled pastry all over with a rolling pin to soften slightly before rolling out until 1/16 inch/1 to 2 millimeters thick, using additional flour sparingly to prevent the dough from sticking. (The dough should be about 1 foot/30 centimeters in diameter.) Using a 3½- to 4-inch/9- or 10-centimeter round cookie cutter, cut out 8 circles and gently ease these into the cups of a muffin tin. (If you use a 4-inch cookie cutter, you'll need to roll the dough very thin.) Press down to fill the cups and press the sides so that the pastry rises to the rim of the cup; doing this will help you fill the tarts generously. Re-roll the remaining pastry to form 4 more circles and transfer to the muffin tin. Chill for at least 1 hour or overnight.
Step
7
Heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit/180 degrees Celsius. Blind-bake the pastry: Line the pastry shells with either paper muffin liners or squares of parchment paper. Fill with pie weights, rice or dried beans and then bake for 18 minutes, or until the pastry shells are a light golden brown around the edges and inside. Remove the parchment paper liners and weights and return the pastry to the oven for another 6 to 7 minutes, until dark golden brown. Quickly and carefully remove the shells from the muffin tin and set aside to cool completely on a wire rack.
Step
8
To serve the tarts: Spoon 2 to 3 tablespoons (about 40 grams) of the curd into each tart shell, or enough curd to fill the shell up to the rim. Smooth the surface of the curd with the back of a knife. Sprinkle the center of each tart with a pinch of Demerara sugar and then arrange the small mint leaves or shredded mint on top. Finally, drizzle each tart with few drops of the remaining tablespoon of rum.
Ratings
4
out of 5
226
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Cooking Notes
Nora
I made this using regular muffin tins, and after cutting out the 4" rounds, I rolled them a little thinner and larger, so they fit perfectly into the tins. I was worried they might stick, and cut small parchment rounds for the bottoms just in case, but they released perfectly. My curd turned out quite green (too much so, not sure I'd parsley again), but the flavor was bright and full of lime. Note to self - sift cornstarch over the eggs before whisking to avoid even small lumps.
Tessa
My guess would be mini. I don't think a 3 1/2" round of dough would come anywhere near the top of a standard muffin tin and 2-3 T. of curd isn't enough to fill a tart made in a standard muffin tin.
Cooker
Perfect ending to a fish dinner. The crust was very crisp and stayed in place by making them 1 in tart pan. I did not add the parchment paper and beans. The filling was delicious.
Gwen
I was able to adapt the recipe to a 9" tart pan with no modifications! You may just have to roll the dough out a little thinner.
Laura Perry
These were delicious and unusual. Comments: piled in the tarts, the green curd looks like mashed avocado, and the Demarara sugar on top made it look like the avocado had oxidized — not appealing. I strained the warm curd before adding the herb paste, just to be sure there were no lumps. I prefer to work with an instant-read thermometer rather than word descriptions: the curd should reach 170 degrees before you add the butter. His pastry is sturdy but a bit tough; try a more delicate one.
Christine
Delicious! I didn’t do a good enough job mashing the mint leaves, it impacted the texture of the filling. Will skip that step next time and add a few drops of mint oil instead.
Susan
One more note: the dough needed a bit more water than called for. (I have made a lot of pastry recipes so am experienced with them ... I usually go by my instincts but this time tried to follow exactly (using weight measurements) and it was much to dry to roll out so had to dampen and refrigerate some more.
Susan
Made these but won't ever again. Way too much work for just ok results. Amount of curd filled about 8 mini muffin size pastry shells. Disappointing results after following directions to a T. Can get much more intense lime/mint flavor with much simpler recipes. So far not loving Otto Lenghi dessert recipes.
Audrey
I found the crust far too gooey to roll out, even after sprinkling lots of flour on the rolling pin and board. I wound up using a different crust recipe, which I found much more suitable. The curd took longer to thicken than indicated -- it didn't firm up until about the 10-minute mark. It's absolutely delicious! I didn't use parsley, because I couldn't wrap my head around parsley in a sweet dessert; nonetheless, the color was very appealing. Very fussy and time-consuming. Not sure I'd do again.
Kelsey
Amazing! I ended up with too much curd, so I will probably double the pastry next time. My crust may have been a little thicker but it’s delicious.
beans
In a pinch, could you use the curd in those individual store-bought Graham cracker mini crusts?
Anne
Why not? I'd do that - would make it like a boozy key-lime pie
frances
The lime-mint curd needs no alternations. It is just lovely.
Mic
Elegant finish! As usual the first time, I followed the recipe as closely as possible. It was fun to make, but once you add in the chill time, we're talking up to three hours. Until I rolled it out I was worried there was not enough pastry, and I was leery of rolling it straight out of the fridge. But there was exactly enough and working the cold dough made it easier to handle the thin discs. I used a regular pan starting with 3.5 inch rounds but quickly restarted with 4"
Em
I served this with a raspberry garnish after a meal of Pressure Cooker Vietnamese Caramel Salmon and Baby Bok Choy. It received many compliments. The mint/lime flavor was strong, but the raspberry helped tone it down a bit.
Fast Eddie
I had a very big package of blue berries from Costco that needed a recipe. So I decided to make this one. It came out very well with the improvements listed below.
1. Separate the eggs and add the yokes first to the batter. I also added one whole egg. Beat the whites and fold in with the berries.
2. Definitely flour the berries before adding to the batter. I think that every baker knows this trick.
3. Knife test and if wet, bake another 10 min tented.
It came out perfectly. Do use the glaze.
Cooker
Perfect ending to a fish dinner. The crust was very crisp and stayed in place by making them 1 in tart pan. I did not add the parchment paper and beans. The filling was delicious.
Nora
I made this using regular muffin tins, and after cutting out the 4" rounds, I rolled them a little thinner and larger, so they fit perfectly into the tins. I was worried they might stick, and cut small parchment rounds for the bottoms just in case, but they released perfectly. My curd turned out quite green (too much so, not sure I'd parsley again), but the flavor was bright and full of lime. Note to self - sift cornstarch over the eggs before whisking to avoid even small lumps.
Rachael
I am tempted to try this in a 9" piecrust instead of small tarts. Any advice?
Gwen
I was able to adapt the recipe to a 9" tart pan with no modifications! You may just have to roll the dough out a little thinner.
Carol Arnold
A question,.......a standard muffin tin or a mini muffin tin?
Tessa
My guess would be mini. I don't think a 3 1/2" round of dough would come anywhere near the top of a standard muffin tin and 2-3 T. of curd isn't enough to fill a tart made in a standard muffin tin.
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