Prep time: 30 minutes Cooking time: 45 minutes + chilling Serves: 10
• 4 lemons (about 150g each)
• 11/2 cups (330g) caster sugar
• 5 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
Pastry
• 2 cups (300g) plain flour
• 2 tablespoons icing sugar
• 150g cold butter, chopped
• 3-4 tablespoons iced water
• 1 egg white, to glaze
1. Wash and dry the lemons. Finely grate the rind, then cut all the white pith from the fruit. Use a sharp knife to cut the lemons crossways into very thin slices. Discard any pips and obvious thick pieces of membrane (don’t worry about keeping the slices neatly shaped). Com-bine the lemons, rind and sugar in a bowl and mix well. Set aside until needed.
2. To make the pastry, put the flour and icing sugar into a food processor and add the butter. Using the pulse button, process in short bursts until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add almost all the water and process again in short bursts, until the dough clings together in small, moist clumps (use the rest of the water if necessary).
3. Turn out onto a clean work surface and gather the dough together. Divide into two portions, one slightly larger than the other. Roll out the larger portion on a sheet of non-stick baking paper, and invert into a 23cm pie dish. Peel the paper away and ease the pastry into the dish. Roll out the other portion on the paper, large enough to cover the dish. Place onto a chopping board or large plate, and place into the fridge along with the pastry-lined pie dish for 20 minutes, for the pastry to rest. Preheat the oven to 180ºC.
4. Whisk the eggs and vanilla with a fork until lightly beaten, then whisk into the lemon mixture. Pour into the pie dish, and top with the pastry. Press the edges together, and trim neatly. Brush with lightly beaten egg white. Bake 45 minutes, until the pastry is golden-brown. Stand for 10 minutes, cut into wedges, serve warm.
Note: this is divine with cream or ice-cream to cut through the tangy lemon.
