Special Recipes

Ingredients

Filling

5 large egg yolks

6 tablespoons cornstarch

1 1/3 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups water

1/2 cup lemon juice

2 teaspoons lemon zest

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Meringue

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1/3 cup water

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons white sugar

5 large egg whites

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Crust (all ingredients should be cold!)

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoon shortening

5 tablespoons unsalted butter

3-5 tablespoons ice water

Method

To make the crust

1. Whisk together the flour and salt. Add the shortening working in until the mixture is crumbly. Add butter and work it in roughly with your fingers or a pastry blender until everything is similar to the size of peas.
2. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons of ice water and start to pull it together, add additional water to make it chunky, it should barely hold together when you squeeze it together. Remove it from the bowl and flatten it out a bit. Drizzle the dry spots with a bit more water and fold everything in on itself. Pull everything together and wrap the disk in plastic wrap, flattening to a disk. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
3. When you’re reading, remove the pie crust and roll it out to about 12″. Gently move it to your 9-inch pie pan and trim and crimp the edges. Cover the pie with parchment paper or foil and fill with beans and pie weights. Bake for 20 minutes at 375F. Remove the pie weights and parchment/foil and poke the bottom with the tines of your fork. Put the crust back in and bake for 15 minutes more, or until lightly browned. Remove from over and set aside.

To make the filling

1. Whisk the egg yolks in a medium bowl and set aside.
2. In a medium saucepan combine the cornstarch, sugar, salt, 1 1/2 cups water and whisk to combine. Bring to a low boil on medium heat, whisking constantly. Let simmer for 1 minute. Mixture will begin to thicken.
3. Once thickened, remove from the heat. Take a spoonful of the warm mixture and whisk it into the beaten egg yolks to temper the yolks. Continue to whisk in spoonfuls of the mixture until you’ve added about half of it to the yolks.
4. Add the egg yolk mixture back tot eh pot and reduce the heat to low and cook for one minute, stirring constantly.
5. Remove from heat and stir in the lemon juice, lemon zest, and butter.
6. Preheat the oven to 325F.

To make the meringue

1. In a small saucepan, whisk together 1 tablespoon cornstarch and 1/3 cup cold water until the cornstarch has dissolved. Place over medium heat and whisk until the mixture bubbles and thickens. Remove from heat and set aside.
2. Whisk together 1/2 cup plug 2 tablespoons of sugar and 1/4 teaspoon of cream of tartar and set aside. Place egg whites in the bowl of your mixer, making sure it is completely clean. Add 1/2 teaspoon vanilla and start beating the egg whites on low speed, gradually increasing to medium
3. Once the eg whites are frothy, slowly add in the sugar and cream of tartar at spoonful at a time. Beat until the egg whites form soft peaks.
4. Add the cornstarch and water mixture a spoonful at a time as you continue to beat the egg whites. Increase the speed to high and continue to beat until stiff peaks have formed. Be careful to stop when stiff peaks form and not overbeat.
5. Heat the lemon filling until it is steamy and scoop it into the pre-baked pie shell, spreading it around evenly. Working quickly, use a rubber spatula to spread the meringue over the filling. Make sure that the meringue attaches to the crust with no gaps. This will keep it from weeping. Use the spatula to make peaks or smooth it over.
6. Bake the pie for 20 minutes at 325F until the meringue is golden brown.
7. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely to room temperature. Beware that cutting into the pie too early will likely result in a running filling.
8. Enjoy!