Spring is here and for those of us with citrus trees, or have friends with citrus trees, we are currently inundated with these wonderful fruits. But what to do with them? The following recipe will only lessen the load by two lemons, but oh my, what an impact it will make!
Ingredients:
• 1 deep pre-prepared pie shell
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 tbsps. plain flour
• 3 tbsps. cornflour
• ¼ tsp. salt
• 1½ cup water
• 2 large lemons, juiced and zested
• 2 tbsps. butter
• 4 egg yolks beaten
• 5 egg whites
• 6 level tbsps. caster sugar
Method:
• Preheat oven to 175oC.
• Make the lemon filling: In a medium saucepan, whisk together the 1 cup white sugar, flours, and salt. Stir in water, lemon juice and zest. Cook over a medium heat, using a whisk, stirring frequently, until mixture comes to a boil. Remove from stove top and add butter. Place egg yolks into a small container and beat, add ½ cup of the hot lemon filling into the container and whisk the egg yolks to incorporate, then pour this mixture back into the saucepan and whisk around, placing back on the hot plate until it comes to a boil. Remove from hotplate and pour filling into pre-prepared pie shell.
• To make meringue: In a large clean bowl whisk the egg whites until foamy. Add the sugar slowly, tablespoon by tablespoon, ensuring each batch of sugar is fully incorporated before adding the next. Whip until stiff peaks form and there is no sign of granulated sugar. Spread meringue over pie, making sure that the meringue extends to the edges of the pie crust.
• Bake in the oven for 10 minutes or until the meringue is light golden brown.
