Tarte aux amandes et au citron - Almond and lemon tart

We had a lot of guests at our house during the holidays, and this tart I decided to bake for the New Year's Day. I doubled the recipe because we had about fifteen people visiting. This is a classic French recipe, and I've always wanted to try it. Actually I added something to it, the turkish yogurt frosting. Somehow I'm in love with the turkish yogurt, I think it crowns the recipe and makes it perfect. And it worked very well, it gave a nice softness to this tart and made it look more beautiful. This tart was very refreshing, and perfect for those who love lemon. And for those who really don't love lemon it goes perfectly too. It's very good.

Ingredients for two tarts (one big, the other one a bit smaller)

For the crust:

400g wheat flour

200g soft butter

1 tsp cinnamon

a pinch of salt

For the filling:

5 lemons (you can add less if you don't like the strong lemon flavour)

160g soft butter

300g pulverized almonds

300g fine white sugar

8 eggs, separated

For the frosting:

grated zest of one lemon

5 dl turkish yogurt

juice of one lemon and the pulp also

5 dl powdered sugar

For the decoration carved zest of lemon

1. Pluck the ingredients of the dough with hands into big crumbs (in a bowl). Add about 3-6 tablespoons water, and knead until the dough froms a ball, which doesn't stick or crumble. Cover the bowl and put in the fridge for 30 minutes.

2. Meanwhile heat the oven to 200°C. Grate the zests of the lemons for the filling (without the white part) and then squeeze the juice of the lemons. Melt the butter in the microwave.

2. Mix together in a big bowl pulverized almonds, sugar, grated zest of lemon, lemonjuice and butter. Add the egg yolks and beat briskly.

3. Beat the egg whites into a foam, add to the lemonmixture.

4. Take the dough away from the fridge, knead it and warm it with your hands, deal it to two. Line the buttered and floured baking moulds with the dough, press the dough so that it becomes an even surface. Stick the dough with a fork.

5. Pour the filling into the mould and bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes or until beautifully golden. Try with a fork or a knife, if the dough doesn't stick the tart is ready.

6. Let the tart cool down. Prepare the frosting meanwhile.

7. Put the turkish yogurt into a big bowl, add the grated zest of lemon and then the other ingredients. Mix until smooth. Put on top of the cooled tarts. Decorate the tarts with carved pieces of lemon zest.

Spinach and feta tart

I've been dreaming of making this tart since October, when I ate spinach and feta tart in Cannes. This one's a bit different, but still the same ingredients. I actually think this is the best spinach and feta tart I've ever tasted. It's very easy to do and has simple ingredients. And it's very good indeed, it was hard to stop eating, I just wanted more more - it was so delicious! This recipe is about for four persons, unless you're very hungry. 

Ingredients:

For the crust:

2 dl plain wheat flour

1 dl rye flour

1/2 dl oatmeal

1 tsp baking powder

1 dl olive oil

1/2 dl water

For the filling:

250g spinach

200g feta cheese

1 onion

2-3 garlic cloves

1/2 dl milk

1 egg

pepper

salt

1. Warm oven into 200°C. Butter the 23cm mould with olive oil. Make the crust: mix togeher flours, oatmeal and baking powder. Add the oil and the water, quickly mix into a crumby dough. 

2. Press the dough into the mould. 

3. Take the hard ends of the spinach leaves off, rinse the leaves and put them in a kettle. Boil them for one minute or less, so that they soften a little. Take them away from the kettle, put into a sieve and strain off the water. 

4. Chop the onions and press the garlic cloves, fry them for a while in a pan in olive oil and then add the spinach. Take away from the heat. 

5. Crumb the feta cheese with a fork, mix together feta cheese, milk and the egg. Add richly black pepper, then some salt (not necessary, because the feta cheese is quite salty). 

6. Put the spinach onion  mixture on the crust, then pour the cheese egg mixture on the top. 

7. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes. Serve with fresh green salad.