Local recipes from the National Parks
Recipe for Yorkshire curd tart
Yorkshire Dales National Park
Traditionally made by farmers’ wives using ‘beastling’ milk – the second milk drawn after a cow has calved as this produced instant curds when heated. Ordinary milk will not curdle of its own accord when heated so you’ll need to add lemon juice!
Ingredients:
Pastry:
- 100g plain flour
- 50g butter, diced
Curd:
- 1.5 litres full fat Yorkshire farm milk
- Juice of one lemon
- 100g caster sugar
- 2 free-range eggs, lightly beaten
- 50ml double cream
- Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
- 50g currants
How to make it:
For the pastry, sift the flour into a bowl add the butter and rub in lightly until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add around 2tbsp of cold water, a little at a time and bring the pastry together.
To make the curd, heat the milk until it reaches boiling point. If you’re using ordinary milk, add the lemon juice and stir until the milk curdles. Allow it to cool and then drain through a cheesecloth overnight. Discard the whey (liquid) and beat the sugar into the soft ball of curd. Stir in the eggs and cream, add the nutmeg and stir in the currants.
Roll out the pastry and use to line an 18cm tart tin. Add the filling and bake at 180ºC for about 30 minutes until just set and starting to turn golden.
A perfect tea-time treat for the whole family.
