AMALFI LEMON TART

This wonderful baked lemon tart is fresh but comforting and just a stone’s throw away from a baked cheesecake. It’s great served with ice cream, and really nice with berries. If you’re feeling the Italian vibe, a little slice for breakfast with a black coffee is a real treat. Serves 10-12

For the pastry

250g (9oz) plain flour, plus extra for dusting

50g (1¾oz) icing sugar, plus extra for dusting

Sea salt

75ml (2½fl oz) olive oil

75ml (2½fl oz) white wine (preferably Greco di Tufo) ½tsp vanilla bean paste

For the filling

5 large lemons

500g (1lb 2oz) quality ricotta cheese

150g (5½oz) caster sugar

2 large free-range eggs

To make the pastry, put the flour and icing sugar into a large bowl with a good pinch of sea salt.

Make a well in the middle, then add the oil, wine and vanilla paste. Use a fork to whip up the wet mixture, gradually bringing the flour in from the outside until it comes together as a ball of dough. Tip on to a lightly floured surface and knead for a couple of minutes, then wrap in clingfilm and place in the fridge for 30 minutes.

On a flour-dusted surface, roll out the pastry to about 3mm thick. Loosely roll it up around the rolling pin and unroll it over a 25cm loose-bottomed tart tin, easing and pushing it carefully into the sides. Trim off any excess, patch up any holes, then prick the base with a fork, cover with clingfilm, and chill in the freezer for 1 hour 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/ gas 4. When the time’s up, bake the pastry case blind for 25 minutes, until lightly golden. Meanwhile, finely grate the zest of 1 lemon and put aside. Squeeze all the lemons to give you 150ml of juice, then whisk with the rest of the filling ingredients, by hand or in a food processor, until smooth. Pour into the tart case and bake for 30 minutes, dusting with icing sugar and sprinkling the lemon zest over for the last 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool – it will have a slight wobble, but will set as it cools. Dust with extra icing sugar, then slice and serve. From Jamie Cooks Italy, by Jamie Oliver, Penguin Random House, €27.99. Photography: David Loftus