Taking advantage of the mellow, almost creamy character of Assam, the filling for this tart acquires its attractive butterscotch color from the reddish hue of the tea, which has been steeped not in water but in fresh lemon juice. (Note: Be aware that this filling is designed to be meltingly soft. ; if you wish a firmer, sweeter final product, reduce the lemon juice to 6 tablespoons.) The short dough can be used for both the crust and shortbread cookies. Shape into a half inch / 1 centimeter round disc sprinkled with granulated sugar, scored into wedges. Bake at 325*F / 163*C for about 35 to 45 minutes, or until golden brown. For neat triangles, cut on the score marks as soon as the shortbread comes out of the oven. Warning: These are irresistible when warm. Ingredients Dough ingredients Half pound / 230 grams unsalted (sweet) butter at room temperature One fourth cup / 50 grams granulated white sugar Zest of half lemon, yellow part only (the white pith can be bitter, so avoid grating it along with the zest) 1 whole large egg Three fourths cup / 150 grams all purpose flour Tea and Lemon Curd Filling Half cup / 120 milliliters freshly squeezed lemon juice 4 tablespoons / 56 grams Assam tea leaves Zest of 1 lemon 2 whole large eggs plus 2 egg yolks from large eggs Three fourths cup / 150 grams granulated white sugar One fourth pound / 115 grams unsalted (sweet) butter Garnishes (optional): Natural, unsalted pistachio nuts, finely chopped; crystallized ginger, thinly sliced; or candied lemon slices Preparation Using the bowl of an electric mixer or a food processor with the steel knife attachment, cream the butter until soft and fluffy. Add the sugar and zest and mix to blend. In a small bowl, break the egg and stir lightly. Process briefly to blend it into the mix. Add flour and process just until the flour disappears. Remove from the mixer or processor bowl and place on a lightly floured surface. Knead briefly and flatten into a disc, about half inch / one centimeter thick. Wrap and refrigerate until firm. While the dough is chilling, make the curd. In a small, non reactive saucepan, bring the lemon juice and tea leaves to a boil. Remove from heat and steep only for 1 minute. Sieve the mixture into a small bowl, pressing hard on the tea leaves to extract as much of the liquid as possible. Reserve the liquid but discard the leaves. In a 3 quart / 3 liter saucepan, bring 3 inches / 7.5 centimeters of water to a boil. Place the liquid plus the lemon zest, eggs, egg yolks, sugar and butter into a stainless steel bowl large enough to fit snugly over the saucepan, acting as a double boiler. Note: This technique is preferable to an actual double boiler because there is more room in which to whisk the ingredients vigorously, thus eliminating a mixture that ends up stiff, not altogether mixed, or burnt as a result of the pesky corners of a traditional double boiler. Reduce the heat to medium so that the water is just simmering. Whisk constantly until the mixture is the thickness of mayonnaise, making sure to scrape the mixture well from the sides of the bowl. Put the mixture through a fine-meshed sieve to remove any lumps and set aside to cool to room temperature. Remove the dough from the refrigerator. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to a 14 inch / 35 centimeter round about one fourth inch / 6 millimeters thick. Slide a metal spatula under the dough to make sure it is not sticking to the rolling surface. Roll up over the rolling pin and ease into an 8 inch / 20 centimeter diameter, false bottomed tart pan, pressing the dough firmly into the fluted sides of the pan. Prick with a fork at 1 inch / 2 centimeter intervals all around the base of the tart. Chill until frozen, about 30 minutes. Using the remaining dough, prepare the shortbread as noted above. While the dough is in the freezer, preheat oven to 400*F / 204*C. Remove tart pan from freezer and bake on middle rack of oven for about 35 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool. Spread filling evenly in a half inch / 1 centimeter layer and decorate with the garnishes of your choice. Serve at room temperature. Yields 6 servings. Note: The recipe provides enough dough for both the tart and about 20 shortbread triangles. (Once can never have enough shortbread.)