Some recipes come together by mistake or experimentation

Many recipes are created by mistakes chef’s make in the kitchen.

The great French chef Jacques Pépin has shared and uses his mother’s recipe for souffléd eggs. It is one I have shared in my column and use as well.

When Pépin’s mother was newly married at age 17 and had never prepared a soufflé. She wanted to make one for her husband but did not have a recipe. She only knew that it was made with a white sauce or béchamel, grated cheese and eggs.

She didn’t know the eggs should be separated and only the yolks added to the sauce while the whites are whipped into stiff peaks and gently folded into the mixture creating the gentle rise of a perfect soufflé. Instead she beat the eggs together and added them directly to the cheese sauce.

Pépin said this was a classic case of “ignorance is bliss,” because her recipe actually worked and became a family favorite.

My lemon tart recipe was also created by experimentation. Recently, I was impatient for my lemon curd to set up so I slowly added the mixture into a large glass bowl and heated it in the microwave a few seconds at a time in many intervals while stirring constantly.

I am not a fan of the microwave and only use it for reheating leftovers at home or slowly melting chocolate on a low setting. But this process worked beautifully, and was also quick and easy.

This week I have included my recipe for Lemon Tart. You can prepare the lemon curd filling the traditional way on the stovetop or try my unconventional method. I am currently serving the tart at my restaurant.

Enjoy!

If you have a cooking question, contact me at cher.orr@gmail.com and I’d be happy to assist!

Lemon TartMakes one 12-inch Tart

INGREDIENTS — Tart Pastry

• 3 cups all-purpose flour

• 4 ½ tablespoons sugar

• 3/8 teaspoon salt

• 2 eggs

• 3 tablespoons ice-cold water

• 2 ¼ sticks cold unsalted butter

• Egg wash

PREPARATION

• Whisk together dry ingredients. Cut butter into small pieces and combine until crumbly. Mix together eggs and water and blend into mixture to form a dough.

• Place dough ball in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes, or until use. Tart dough can be frozen.

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

• Roll the dough out onto a floured surface to fit a 12-inch tart pan with removable bottom. Place in pan and press and form edges. Chill for 20 minutes.

• Place chilled tart on a foil-lined baking sheet. Line dough with foil and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake for 20 minutes.

• Remove foil and pie weights. Brush with egg wash and bake an additional 10-15 minutes until very lightly brown but still pale in color. Cool before filling. Can be made up to 3 days in advance. Do not remove from the pan.

INGREDIENTS — Lemon Curd Filling

• 5 eggs

• 5 egg yolks

• 1 ¼ cups sugar

• Zest of 3 lemons

• ¾ cup fresh lemon juice

• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt

• 1 teaspoon lemon extract

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 12 tablespoons butter, cold, cut into cubes

PREPARATION

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

• In a large microwave-safe bowl, whisk together eggs, egg yolks, and sugar until lighter in color and creamy. Gradually whisk in lemon zest and juice, salt, and extracts. Add the cubed butter.

• Place bowl in a microwave oven and heat on high power for 30-second intervals , removing bowl and stirring with a spatula in between each time heating. This will take about 5 to 10 minutes depending on the power of the microwave oven. Continue to heat and stir the mixture until it thickens enough to coat the back of the spatula.

• Pour the filling into the prepared tart shell and bake for 5 minutes, then rotating the pan and baking for an additional 5 minutes.

• Cool to room temperature. Chill for 2 hours. Before serving, remove from tart pan and bring to room temperature. Serve with whipped cream. Tart will keep for 5 days stored in the refrigerator.