Tomatillo Curd Tart
Because of it’s sourness, and propensity towards pie filling running in it’s family, I thought tomatillos might make an interesting sweet treat. Interesting was indeed the first adjective one might use to describe this tart. Tomatillos have a nice sour flavor, but also an underlying mustiness that was definitely in the forefront as I ate this. That doesn’t mean it was bad, I didn’t have a problem eating a whole big piece with a pile of whipped cream on top.
Tomatillos are a favorite fruit of mine.
I’m staying with my friend john who happens to have a juicer and it made this whole process easier.
I blind baked the tart shell because the filling gets cooked on the stovetop. ย Yes I understand that there is an odd assortment of products on the counter.
I strained it just incase any scrambled eggs formed while cooking.
After the tart set, it was a beautiful light green.
You may notice mine wasn’t set quite enough in the photos. That’s cause I actually used like 1/2 cup extra tomatillo juice but shouldn’t have. This recipe should fix that issue.
I adapted Ina Gartens lemon curd recipe into this tomatillo curd.
This is the tart crust I used.
Tomatillo Curd Tart
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Tomatillo Juice probably about 15 tomatillos juiced
- 1 Lime juiced
- 2 Cups Sugar
- 2 Sticks Butter
- 8 Eggs
- 1/4 Teaspoon Salt
Instructions
- Cream the butter and sugar in a mixer and slowly add the eggs one at a time. Add the tomatillo juice, lime juice, and salt and mix to combine. On medium low, heat the mixture stirring often for about 10 minutes to slowly reach 175. When the mixture hits that temperature, it will thicken. Strain into the blind baked tart crust and allow to cool in the fridge to set.
Tomatoes and tomatillos are related, I thought they weren’t for awhile either, until my dad a plant biologist pointed out that they in fact are! …Long before the tomato achieved star status in the vegetable gardening world, its cousin in the nightshade family, the tomatillo (Physalis philadelphica), was a staple for the people of Mexico and Guatemala… LA Times
quit it this is amazing
Yes, Tomatillos and tomatoes are both in the solanaceae (nightshade) family, along with potatoes, belladonna (deadly nightshade), and (here’s where the confusion comes in) the Cape Gooseberry.
The English or American gooseberry that we know from jam and pie fame is in the Grossulariaceae family along with currants – not even in the same order as the solanaceae.
The fruit of the Cape Gooseberry looks similar to the English gooseberry except that it has a cape (husk) like the tomatillo, so I suppose that’s why they are both called gooseberries.
The Cape Gooseberry can be used very similarly to the English gooseberry in cooking, as can (I think) the tomatillo.
Gray
I love tomatillos. I shall set to baking a tart ,or better still mini-tartlets for my niece Guinevere’s birthday party. The pretty green filling looks so delicate and delicious and it fits our pastel decor!