Ingredients:

• 300g Sweet Pastry Dough

Strawberry Filling

• 500g Strawberries (cleaned, trimmed and sliced)
• 125g Brown Sugar
• 27g Cornstarch
• 5g Salt
• 1 Lemon (juiced and zest finely grated)

Instructions:

1. Roll out the sweet pastry dough to a thickness of 2mm and roughly 11-12 inches in diameter and carefully line a 10 inch tart mold/ring with a removable bottom.  Fold in the excess dough around the edges of the tart to produce a double layer/thickness and use a sharp knife to trim off any excess.  Cover with cling film and chill in the fridge for at least 30mins.
2. Preheat the oven to 375ºF.
3. Make a egg wash, by cracking one egg and whisking it with a bit of salt.
4. Remove the chilled tart case from the fridge, and place onto a baking sheet/pan.  Cover the tart pastry with parchment paper, and fill with baking beans.  Place the tart case in the center of the oven and blind bake for 30-35mins, till 80% cooked through.  Take it out of the oven and remove the parchment paper and baking beans from the tart case. Apply the egg wash all over the surface of the tart shell and return to the oven for a further 15mins till the tart shell is golden brown and fully cooked.
5. In a pan, add your sliced strawberries, lemon juice, sugar and salt and cook over medium high heat until everything has dissolved and the strawberries have broken down.
6. In a separate bowl, mix the cornstarch with a splash of water to form a slurry and slowly add this to your cooked strawberry mixture.  Stir until well incorporated and cook for 2-3mins until the mixture has thickened.  Add your lemon zest and stir until combined.
7. Pour your cooked strawberry mix into your cooked tart shells and allow to cool and settle before chilling in your fridge.  Chill for 1-2hrs until the strawberry filling has set and firmed.

Notes:

• This is very simple and delicious tart, that really highlights the flavour of strawberries.  If possible, try to make this tart when strawberries are in season and have the best flavour in order to make the best possible strawberry tart.
• Part of the secret to this dish is to know when to stop cooking, so that the strawberries retain their fresh strawberry flavour and haven’t overcooked.  You basically want to cook it far enough to remove some of the water content and concentrate the flavour but not overcooked it to a point where everything turns to jam.  
• You dilute the cornstarch with a little water to form a slurry before adding it strawberry mixture instead of adding it together with all the other ingredients to prevent the cornstarch from clumping and forming little pockets of undissolved cornstarch in your strawberry filling.
• The reason for adding the grated lemon zest at the end instead of the beginning with all the other ingredients at the start of cooking is to retain the “freshness” of the lemon zest and to give you little burst of flavour when you’re eating this tart.