Whole-lemon poppy seed tart

This is the first recipe that I mixed and matched and tweaked a few things here and there.  There's the tart shell recipe to which I added lemon zest and poppy seeds.  There's the filling that I changed from the complicated lemon curd to Smitten Kitchen's easy peasy one.  This recipe really put me out because I had to buy one whole lemon for the filling.  Really, I was sweating.

It was totally worth planning ahead.  This tart received rave reviews at a dinner party last month so it will most definitely make encore appearances, with or without the poppy seeds in the crust.  Maybe I'll even switch to an easier non-almond crust because nuts add to the recipe's caloric value.

Almond lemon poppy seed tart shell
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup blanched almonds*
1/3 cup confectioners’ sugar
Grated zest of 1/2 lemon
Pinch kosher salt
1 stick unsalted butter, cold and cubed
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon poppy seeds

* to blanch almonds, pour boiling water over dry almonds.  Let sit for 60 seconds, then drain and cool with cold water.  Slip the almonds out of their skins and place into a bowl lined with a paper towel.  Dry completely with the towel.

1. In a food processor, pulse almonds with 1/2 c flour.  Adding flour here prevents the almonds from turning into a paste.  Once the almonds are finely ground, add remaining 1 c flour, sugar, lemon zest, and salt.  Pulse until mixed.
2. Add cold butter and pulse until a coarse meal forms.  Add beaten egg while the processor is on.  Add poppy seeds until just combined.
3. Press the dough into a disc and chill in plastic wrap for at least 1 hour, preferably overnight.
4. When the dough comes out of the fridge it should be really hard.  Whack it a few times with a rolling pin.  Roll the dough out between two sheets of plastic wrap/wax paper/parchment.  You do not want to add flour while rolling it out in order to keep the crust buttery and smooth.  Roll it until it is 1" larger than your tart pan.
5. Using light fingers, press the dough into your oiled tart pan.  The harder you press, the more difficult it will be to remove from the pan later.
6. Bake at 325°F for 20 minutes with pie weights, then an additional 5 minutes without the weights.
7. Let cool.

Whole-lemon filling (from Smitten Kitchen)
1 average-sized lemon, rinsed and dried
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into chunks
4 large eggs
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon table salt

1. Slice the lemon into thin wheels, remove any seeds, and toss the rounds — lemon flesh and peel — sugar and chunks of butter into the container of a food processor. Process, scraping down the sides of the container as needed, until the lemon is thoroughly pureed. Add the eggs, cornstarch and salt and pulse until the batter is smooth.
2. Pour into the tart shell.  Pan sizes differ, so do not pour it past the top of your shell.
3. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until the filling is set. You can test this by bumping the pan a little; it should only jiggle slightly.
4. Cool and serve.

Out of curiosity, I added up the nutritional information from all of the ingredients.  I assume that adding them is a close enough estimate - it makes sense, right?  I was surprised by how... unhealthy... just 1/8 of the tart is.  I really hope I miscalculated something.  Proceed with caution!

1 serving (1/8 tart)

   543 calories

   29.1g fat

        15.8g saturated fat

   193.2mg cholesterol

   47mg sodium

   64.4g carbohydrate

        1.5g fiber

        42.1g sugars

   8.4g protein