Seville Orange Meringue Tart
Yesterday was a day full of new things and a LOT of experimenting in the kitchen. I worked on a few recipes that have great potential (to be posted soon) and one that was a knockout!
At this point, there's no doubt that I'm dealing with a full-blown Seville orange addiction. I hit the jackpot yesterday with Seville Orange Meringue Tart. I was inspired by my neighbor, Wendy who brought us a few pieces of her fantastic Key Lime Pie on Sunday. Why not try it with sour oranges?! I couldn't wait to get crackin'!
The first place I went to look for recipes was David Lebovitz's blog (one of the best, if not the best food blog out there). I was greeted with a great recipe full of new and exciting challenges. First of all, Lebovitz recommends a French tart dough that is made with very hot melted butter. This technique runs completely contrary to the method most of use have used for years of cutting very cold butter into the flour. Once one clears the mental hurdles of preparing the dough in this manner, it is really very easy (just be careful handling the dish of hot butter). This is the most successful tart dough I've ever made (I can't wait to follow Lebovitz's suggestion to fill it with chocolate ganache...).
I slightly adapted Lebovitz's wonderful Lime Meringue Tart recipe in order to use the Seville oranges. The filling is a basic curd recipe, without any milk, which I really like. It was also nice that after finishing the recipe I was left with only one unused egg white, instead of 3 (you could use the third white as well if you plan to cover the whole pie in a light blanket of meringue.)
The next completely new technique I learned was making meringue on the stove. I have the Popeye forearm to prove my mettle. I'm thinking I should get a whisk tattooed over my brachioradialis and forearm flexors, just so people know why my arm looks so unbalanced. In any case, the meringue that results from this muscle building method is sooo smooth with just the right amount of stickiness. It is composed of tiny, densely packed air bubbles. The technique is not overly difficult and the results are very professional looking. The taste and texture are exquisite. My only word of caution is to watch the meringue every second when you brown it under the broiler. I was watching it like a hawk, then Emmy asked me if she could practice piping some of the leftover meringue on a piece of waxed paper and I turned away from my watch to get her started. WHAM-O! My meringue started burning!! I quickly rescued the pie with no flavor implications, but the meringue was a bit shy of perfection for it's dark color.
I highly recommend using Lebovitz's French Tart Dough recipe. But if you would rather not, just use your own favorite tart dough recipe.
Seville Orange Tart
--adapted from David Lebovitz's Lime Meringue Tart
One pre-baked 9" tart shell
For the filling:
1/2 cup (one stick) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
3/4 cup Seville orange juice (about 4 good size oranges)
1/2 cup plus 3 TBS sugar
zest of one Seville orange
a pinch of salt
3 egg yolks
3 eggs
For the meringue (To cover the entire tart in a light covering of piped meringue use all three whites from the yolks above and a pinch more sugar):
2 egg whites
1/4 cup plus 1 TBS sugar
a pinch of salt
1/2 tsp vanilla
Preheat the over to 375F.
Combine butter, orange juice & zest, sugar and salt in a saucepan over medium heat until the butter is melted and the mixture is just warm.
Meanwhile, separate three eggs and set the white aside. Combine the three yolks with the three whole eggs and beat together with a fork or whisk.
When the butter is warm, add 1/3 cup of the butter/juice mixture to the beaten eggs and yolks, whisking constantly. Now, turn the heat down to medium low and poor the slightly warmed egg mixture into the butter/juice/sugar combination in the saucepan, whisking away while you do it. Keep up the constant whisking while the curd forms (do not boil!! or you will get bits of cooked egg in your curd, which you can strain out if you need to, but easier not to). When the curd begins to thicken and coats the back of a spoon pour it into the pre-baked pie shell and bake at 375F for 10 minutes.
While that tart is setting in the oven, get busy on the meringue. Put a saucepan of water on to simmer. Put the egg whites, sugar, and salt in the bowl of your stand mixer. Using the whisk attachment, beat the whites/sugar/salt until the white are foamy. Transfer the mixing bowl to set over the simmering water. Whisk away (dreaming all the while of Popeye forearms) until the whites reach 140F on an instant-read thermometer. Then bring the bowl and reattach it to the stand mixer and beat on high speed to cool the whites. After about 3 minutes, scrap down the sides of the bowl and add the vanilla. Beat another 3 minutes or so fully cool the dense and lovely meringue. Pipe, dollop, or spread the meringue on top of the set pie.
Heat the broiler and VERY CAREFULLY AND ATTENTIVELY brown the meringue.
Revel in the lip-puckering delights of Seville Orange Tart!
