An easy lemon tart from the ladies behind the Tora Coastal Walk in the Wairarapa.

The Tora Coastal Walk is known as much for its fine catering as for its dramatic scenery. Kiri Elworthy and Jenny Bargh’s food gives walkers the boost they need to climb another peak and  people  often mock-complain about putting on weight during the three-day tramp.

“Sometimes people arrive saying, ‘Do we have to walk? We’ve just come for the food,” says Jenny.

Both families have extensive vegetable gardens, while the sea and farms provide much of the protein. “Our boys are mad-keen hunters, so they come home and fill the freezer with the most beautiful venison,” Kiri says. “People’s eyes nearly pop out of their heads when I say, ‘this was shot on that hill over there’. People just don’t cook anymore.”

Don’t prick the base of the pastry shell before cooking or you will lose your filling out the bottom when you pour it on.

INGREDIENTS

225g butter
1 cup caster sugar
7 eggs
1 cup chilled lemon juice
Finely grated rind of about 3 lemons
1 blind-baked pastry shell (“I cheat and use bought pastry,” Kiri says.)

METHOD

Heat the oven to 150°C. Melt the butter in the microwave until almost bubbling. Add the caster sugar and eggs and beat well with a hand beater. Add the chilled lemon juice and mix well.

The filling should turn pale and thicken slightly when the lemon juice is added. Pour into the cooked pastry crust and carefully transfer to the oven. Bake until the filling is set but still has a slight wobble.

Serves 10–14