lime and black pepper tart

last night, our friends mary and eliot came round for dinner and aidan cooked a great indian meal with homemade paneer, lots of bhajis, samosas and freshly made naan bread.

inspired by the lime and black pepper bar, i decided to try a variation on my favourite recipe for lemon tart.

i had a distaster with the first pastry case when i turned it upside down to empty the beans after blind baking it. much to elsie and esme's delight, it broke into a lovely pile of crumbly, buttery biscuits! after a moment of stress and panic, i followed their lead, had a biscuit and a coffee and started again. the end result was superbly zesty with a twist of heat.

lime and black pepper tart

sweet shortcrust pastry

250g plain flour
3 tablespoons caster sugar
155g chopped butter
iced water

zap the flour, sugar and butter in a food processor until it forms fine crumbs. slowly addd iced water to form a soft dough. knead lightly and refrigerate in clingfilm for half an hour.

lime filling

220g caster sugar
4 eggs
250ml cream
250ml lime juice and zest
lime and black pepper chocolate bar

preheat the oven to 180 C. roll out the pastry to fit a 25cm tart tin with a removable base. prick holes in the base and line with greaseproof paper. fill with dried beans and bake blind for 10 minutes. remove the beans (do not turn upside down!) and bake for a further 10 minutes and then take it out the oven. turn the oven temperature down to 160 C.

while the oven cools, melt most of a large lime and black pepper bar over water at a low heat. reserve a square for flaking over the finished tart. drizzle the melted chocolate over the bottom of the tart case and pop in the fridge while you make the filling.

for the lime filling, mix the eggs, sugar, cream and lime juice with zest until combined. skim any bubbles or foam off the top and pour into the tart case. bake in the oven for about 20 minutes until just set and then pop it in the fridge until the tart is firm.

serve it cut into wedges with clotted cream, lime slices and a twist of black pepper. top with shavings of chocolate.

variations to try: lemon with fresh mint or orange with cardamon