Limequats

Last Sunday at the Farmer's Market, Matthew and I bought a basket of limequats, along with a basket of limes from Farmer Steve. Farmer Steve grows the tastiest limes we've ever tried and we had no doubts that the limequats would be equally good. These tiny, bright yellow fruits are cheerful and cute, as well as being delicious. Naturally, they taste like a cross between limes and kumquats.



Since I also bought strawberries (its the very beginning of strawberry season in Southern Calif.) I wanted to find a way to combine the two fruits into one yummy treat. A lime curd, strawberry tart! So, I decided to start with a creamy base, layer the limequat curd second and then top everything with strawberries. After deciding on my process, I suddenly got the urge to make the same tart but replacing the curd with nutella. Hence the half and half tart. I wish I'd just stuck with one or the other, probably the limequat curd option. But both taste absolutely yummy.






I made the tart dough from Clotilde's book and baked the shell before toping it with all the other ingredients. For the creamy base, I simply processed cream cheese with a large dash of 1/2 n 1/2, a small dash of vanilla and sugar to taste. Lastly, the limequat curd was just adapted from an old lemon curd recipe that I've used for years.



Limequat curd recipe

Grate zest and juice many many limequats until you are tired of dealing with the little things, then grate and zest one lime to make approx. 6 tablespoons of juice total(this can be any citrus juice, all one type or a combo). Mix the juice with 8oz sugar and 4 oz of butter in a double boiler, over low heat, until sugar dissolves. Beat 2 large eggs in a separate bowl. Remove double boiler from heat and very slowly stir in the eggs. Just add the eggs at a trickle, stiring all the while. Once the eggs are incorporated, cook the mixture over medium-low heat, stiring continuously until it thickens and coats the back of the spoon. This is absolutely delicious on toast or scones, over most fruit, or just plain.