Mango Lime Tart

I must admit..I had never heard of Rick Bayless (we don't get PBS in India) until the I Heart Cooking Club announced him as our cook along chef for the next six months.

 Like any self-respecting netizen, I googled. And ,truthfully, I m impressed by whatever info I got on him. Rick Bayless is an award-winning chef-restaurateur, cookbook author, and television personality who has changed the image of mexican food in America.

This is a fabulous opportunity for me to learn and discover new mexican dishes and I know I m in for a grand time :D.

This week's theme for the IHCC is "Sweet Tooth". There are so many recipes which were calling my name as I was browsing through, but I decided to go with this Mango Lime Tart as the mango season has just started in India and having bought my "First Dozen" of alphonsoes yesterday only (can you believe they are charging Rs.1,000/- per dozen??? it's criminal) I was dying to use it in my bakes :D.

Mango Lime Tart
Adapted from Season 5 of Mexico--One Plate at a Time
Ingredients:
Crust
3 ounces (6 tablespoons) butter
4 ounces (about 32) Mexican “Maria” cookies or 16 Graham crackers (I used 20digestive biscuits)
3 tablespoons sugar
For the filling and topping:
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornflour
1 1/3 cup cold water
A big pinch of salt
6 egg yolks
1/3 cup fresh lime juice, plus the finely grated zest of 1 large lime
3 tablespoons butter

Topping
4 egg whites (you should have about 1/2 cup)
1 cup sugar
1 large ripe mango, peeled, flesh cut from the pit and cut into 1/4-inch dice
Sprigs of mint, for garnish

Method:
Preheat the oven to 165 degree Celsius.
Melt the butter, on medium heat, letting it brown slightly. Break the crackers in a food processor. Add the sugar (3 tablespoons) and the melted butter, then continue to pulse until the mixture begins to clump slightly. Press the mixture evenly over the bottom and sides of an 8 inch tart pan (with removable bottom). Bake for 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from the oven and let cool completely.
In a heavy bottom saucepan, whisk together 1 cup sugar, cornflour, water and salt. Bring it to boil, over medium heat, stirring continuously (this will take around 3-4 minutes). Add the egg yolks to the mixture and whisk vigorously until thoroughly incorporated. Whisk in lime juice, zest and butter. Continue whisking until the mixture returns to a boil. Remove from heat and pour it into the pie crust. Let cool to room temperature then refrigerate, covered with a plastic wrap until the filling is chilled and nicely set.
Whisk the egg whites and remaining 1 cup of sugar over a pan of simmering water until the egg whites are very warm to the touch and the sugar dissolves completely. Remove from the heat and beat with the electric mixer until cool, about 5 minutes; the meringue should be thick and fluffy and hold glossy stiff peaks.
Shortly before serving, preheat the oven to 250 degree Celsius or set out a propane or butane torch.  Scoop the meringue into a ring around the outside edge of the tart (an ice cream scoop works well), then use the back of a spoon or a small spatula to form dramatic peaks in it. Place in the oven for 2 or 3 minutes, until the meringue is evenly browned, or brown the meringue with the torch, moving it back and forth over the surface until browned.  Fill the center with the chopped mango.