Thursday, September 9, 2010

Day 153: The Magic of Meyer Lemons


The first thing we planted when we moved into our new home in El Granada was a Meyer Lemon tree.  After struggling for the first three or four years it took root and has become a significant tree in our garden.  Each year now we harvest hundreds of lemons.  Cooking with these sweet lemons is a treat.  My favorite thing to make is Meyer Lemon Curd.  Here is today's pile of lemons with two small jars of the wickedly delicious curd.  Here is the recipe.  It's easy.





Lemon Curd
1/2 cup of unsalted butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
3 Tablespoons lightly packed finely grated lemon zest
Pinch salt
6 large egg yolks

Melt the butter in a heavy medium saucepan over medium heat.  Remove the pan from heat and whisk in the sugar, lemon juice, zest and salt.  Whisk in the yolks until smooth. Return the pan to medium low heat and cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens.  5-6 minutes.  To check if the curd is thick enough, dip a wooden spoon into it and draw your dinger across the back of the spoon; your finger should leave a path.  Don't let the mixture boil.  (*Immediately force the curd through a fine sieve into a bowl, using a rubber spatula. ) Let cool to room temperature, whisking occasionally. Or pour into clean small jelly jars.   Refrigerate and use soon or freeze to use later.    * I leave out the elimination of the zest step and keep the curd with the tender zest flakes.  Some folks like the curd smooth.  If so, do the step of sieving the mix.

No comments:

Post a Comment