The pure essence of lime.
Makes one 9-inch tart
⅔ cup sliced almonds
1¼ cups plus 1 tablespoon sugar
1 cup vanilla wafer crumbs (from about twenty 1½-inch cookies)
¾ cup (1½ sticks) plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
4 large eggs
4 or 5 limes
Toast
⅔ cups sliced almonds
until golden. Cool almonds completely. Preheat oven to 350° F and butter a 9-inch tart pan with a removable fluted rim. In a food processor, pulse the almonds with
¼ cup sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
In a bowl, toss the almond mixture with
1 cup vanilla wafer crumbs
¼ cup (½ stick) unsalted butter, softened
until well combined. Sprinkle half of crumb mixture onto bottom of pan near rim, pressing evenly up side. Sprinkle remaining crumb mixture onto bottom and press evenly over bottom, joining edge. Bake crust in lower third of oven 10 minutes, or until a deeper shade of golden, and cool on a rack.
To make the filling, in a heavy saucepan cook
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
½ cup (1 stick) plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
4 large eggs, beaten lightly
½ cup fresh lime juice (about 4 limes)
over moderately low heat, whisking frequently, until thick enough to hold marks of whisk and first bubble appears on surface, 12 to 15 minutes. Immediately pour curd through a sieve into a bowl. Stir in
1 tablespoon freshly grated lime zest (from about 2 limes)
and cool. Cover surface with plastic wrap; refrigerate (up to one week). Spoon filling evenly into crust and cover surface with a buttered round of wax paper. Chill tart, covered, at least one hour and up to 24.
Adapted from The Best of Gourmet, 1997 Edition