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Lemon Meringue Pie
From Dorothy McNett's recipes at www.dorothymcnett.com. Carefully separate the eggs, using the yolks for the filling and the whites for the meringue.
for the crust:
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
few grindings of peppercorns
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon very cold unsalted butter
1/4 cup very cold water
for the filling:
1 1/4 cups raw sugar
1 1/4 cups warm water
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
5 egg yolks
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
zest of 1 lemon
1/2 cup lemon juice
5 egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
4 tablespoons raw sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In food processor with steel chopping blade in place, whirl the flour, salt and pepper. Pulse in the butter so that it is cut up into pea-sized pieces. Add the cold water and just whirl to blend well, do not overmix. Or, prepare the crust in a bowl using a pastry blender, being careful not to overmix. Shape dough into a ball. Using a pastry cloth and a cloth covered rolling pin, sprinkle a bit of flour over the cloth. Roll the dough into a circle, lift into a 9 inch pie pan. (Metal, glass, or ceramic) Trim and flute the edges, and then with a fork pierce the crust liberally to keep it from rising up due to steam build-up as it is baking. If desired, also use pie weights to help hold it in place. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees and bake for 12-15 minutes to brown. Set aside.
Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees. For the filling, combine sugar, water, cornstarch, and salt in glass or ceramic batter bowl. Cook in microwave 2 minutes. Whisk. Cook another 1-2 minutes or until thick and clear. In another bowl, beat or whisk egg yolks well and gradually add a little of the hot mixture to the yolks, whisking well and adding more of the hot mixture to warm the egg yolks. (tempering!) Whisk warmed yolk mixture into the hot ingredients. Cook 1 minute, whisk well and cook another minute and then whisk in butter, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Pour into the baked pie shell. Set aside while you prepare the meringue. In a clean batter bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar until egg whites have formed soft peaks. Gradually add sugar and vanilla, beating constantly until high stiff peaks. Gently pile meringue onto pie filling, swirling to make peaks and making sure the meringue touches the edges of the crust. Bake 10-12 minutes, or until nicely browned. If desired, garnish with a little lemon zest.
Recipe created 1995-01-01.
