Herbal Spotlight: Limequats With Recipe for Limequat Curd & Tartlets

Curd and Tartlets and Cocktails -- Oh My!

Q:   What do you get when you cross a kumquat with a Key-lime?
A:   A tiny piece of Heaven!
Limequats are my most anticipated item of the yearly Winter-Citrus season & I wait impatiently all year long for these delicacies to arrive! Imma go a little crazy with 'em this week -- there will be Limequat cocktails & marmalade, as well as Limequat Curd & gorgeous Limequat Tartlets with a super easy, no-bake sablée crust. Pucker Up & come along!

Limequats are the result of crossing Key-limes with kumquats in the early 1900s, a delicious hybrid known as Citrofortunella floridana. These bushy trees produce prolific amounts of fruit, which has reinforced their recent up-turn in popularity with home gardeners. [Oh! For my own heated conservatory I could grow them & vanilla orchids in! Sigh!] Limequats have a floral fragrance & unique, tangy-tart flavor. 

They are entirely edible like kumquats--seeds, peel, & all. [Most people find the seeds to be bitter & discard them] They are loaded with Vitamin C & folic acid, & have wide use applications. They can be eaten raw or cooked & work well in savory & sweet dishes & drinks, as do most citrus fruits. In our home it is a scramble to secure as many as we can each Winter & preserve a bunch to extend the season for our family. I make marmalade, curd, & syrups, being sure to freeze quite a bit in an attempt to last us the year. You can usually find them with the other Winter Citrus in specialty markets & maybe even your local Whole Foods -- We are very lucky indeed to be able to source them at our local Co-Op, Rising Tide.

Limequat Aviations are one of my very favorites

Their tart flavor works well with chicken & fish dishes. I adore using candied limequat halves as salad toppers as well, especially with a bright, apple-cider vinaigrette. But, my absolutely favorite way to enjoy them, unsurprisingly, is in curd & in cocktails. Making syrup not only yields lovely syrup which holds up in the freezer for a good 6 months, but also candied limequat pieces for salads & so is a huge Win-Win for us. I rely on the Power-Of-Three method for best syrup results with these tiny treasures -- Zest/Juice/Fruit.  I use the microplane to zest a few into my saucepan, cut a ​

handful in half & squeeze the juice in, AND add the halves as well to 1:1 water & sweetener. This method really makes the most of their amazing flavor. Once you strain off your syrup, simply pick out the seeds & let the fruit pieces cool-- then enjoy candied limequats on salads or as cocktail garnishes! Limequat syrup plays well with gin, tequila, & vodka, & it is particularly thirst-quenching in bubbly soda water as well for a simple, exotic homemade soda.

Martha Stewart has a dead simple recipe for no-cook Limequat Marmalade that is an amazing accompaniment to a cheese plate. It is also quite lovely with roasted chicken. For longer keeping, limequats make wonderful traditional marmalade preserves as well. Now, while both of these are worthwhile uses for limequats, Limequat Curd outshines them both. Ridiculously easy & outrageously delicious -- 

the curd is the way to go if you plan to only make one limequat recipe. Enjoy it on scones & toast [with or without clotted cream] or use it to fill tarts with my super quick [CHEAT!] sablée crust. You’ll be so glad you did! Here’s how:

Super Easy, No-Bake Sablée Crust for Tarts

10 oz Shortbread Cookies 
6 TBS Unsalted Butter, melted 
2 TBS Light Brown Sugar 
1 TBS Refined Sugar

Process the cookies in a blender or food processor until even crumbs form. Add both sugars & pulse a few times to combine. Pour out into a mixing bowl & add the melted, working it into the crumb mixture evenly with a fork. Grease your pans & ramekins, then press an even layer of crumbs into them. Press it down firmly using fingers & the back of a metal measuring cup. That is IT! 

Refrigerate for at least 10 minutes before filling & you are all set! Seriously, no blind baking, no pie weights. You are good to go. This is enough to make a nice, thick crust for a large 9” tart or many smaller tartlets. Now on to the CURD!

Limequat Curd

3 Large Eggs 
1 cup Sugar 
⅔ cups Limequat Juice* 
2 TBS Limequat  Zest* 
4 TBS Unsalted Butter, small diced & chilled 
Pinch Sea Salt
* Feel free to add some regular lime juice &/or kumquat juice if you don't have enough limequats. For the zest, I highly recommend mixing in a little lime & kumquat zest with your limequats as the blend of yellow, green & orange is very pretty in the finished curd.

Zest your limequats [& any other fruit being used] & set aside. Juice your fruit & reserve, removing any seeds. I do not strain out the pulp from the fresh juice, as it adds such lovely flavor. Set up your double-boiler & simmer [or a stainless steel bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water]. ​

Add the eggs, sugar, & juice, & begin whisking to blend. Cook & continue whisking constantly to prevent the eggs curdling. It will foam up at first. As the foam dies down, you will see it start to thicken & get glossy. This should take between 5 & 10 minutes. ​

Once thick, remove from heat & begin to add the small pieces of butter, one at a time, whisking to incorporate. Once all of your butter has been whisked in, add the zest & pinch of salt. Voila, Limequat Curd! ​It will continue to thicken as it cools. This recipe makes about 3 cups of curd. Pop it into mason jars to store in the fridge -- These make lovely gifts if you are feeling generous! If you're making tarts, put the curd in the fridge to set-up & cool for at least 30 minutes before using it to filling. I like to top our Limequat Tartlets with fresh berries, but some whipped cream wouldn’t go wrong either.

Allow your curd to chill for at least 30 minutes before filling tarts.

There it is-- A pretty spectacular result from very little effort! I hope you enjoy the post & give the curd a try. It is always a hit. The tarts are so pretty too-- Please let me know what you think if you make it & share PICTURES!  Until next time -- Remember to  #StopAndEatTheFlowers