Thursday, March 26, 2009

Meyer Lemon Curd

Meyer Lemon Curd

Last week my friend Raul gave me about twenty pounds of lemons. Ok, I may be exaggerating just a bit, but I think he gave me at least ten pounds. The first thing I thought of when he asked me what I would do with all the lemons was to make a curd. Of course there was the small problem of me never having had curd that I could remember and also the fact that I still had a few Meyer lemons that needed to be used. A quick search for lemon curd recipes led to a bunch of Meyer lemon curd recipes and this particular recipe was the best for it's ease and lack of fuss. Besides my Daring Bakers recipes, I like the things I make to be as un-fussy as possible. I also liked the fact that I did not need to halve the recipe so that I would not be left with vats of extra curd in case I didn't like it. Well guess what? I didn't just like it, I loooovvvveeeed it! I could not get enough of the velvety, tart smooth lemon flavor. I am almost embarrassed to admit this, but I just kept sticking my finger the the finished curd and licking it clean. Much like how one does with peanut butter. It was that good. I had heard of people slathering lemon curd on toast and didn't think much of it until I tried it myself. I can tell you, I have been having lemon curd on toast every day this week. I also put the curd to another spectacular use that I will share with you in a few days. If you haven't tried lemon curd, I strongly suggest you go get a couple of lemons and see what the fuss is about. You won't be sorry. You can definitely make this recipe with regular lemons if Meyer lemons aren't readily available where you are. The only change you may want to do is to up the amount of sugar.


Meyer Lemon Curd
(From No Recipes)

1 stick unsalted butter
2 Meyer lemons, zested
1/2 cup Meyer lemon juice
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs, separated

Drop the butter into a heavy bottomed saucepan over low heat and let it melt (the pan should be just warm enough to melt the butter). Once it’s mostly melted turn off the heat.

In a medium bowl, add the sugar and the lemons into it. Then squeeze the juice and add it to the sugar.

Separate the eggs, dropping the yolks into the pot of melted (but not hot) butter and the whites into the sugar mixture.

Whisk the yolks and butter together until well combined. Then take the whisk to the sugar mixture until well combined. Pour the sugar mixture into the pot with the butter and whisk it all together.

Turn the heat back on to low and use a heat-proof silicon spatula to constantly stir the mixture, scrapping the bottom and sides of the pan to make sure nothing burns. If you have an instant read thermometer, the temperature should read 170 degrees. Otherwise, just keep stirring until the curd thickens enough to coat the spatula. Make sure you don’t over cook it.

As soon as it’s done, take it off the heat and pour it into another container.

Stumble Upon Toolbar

20 comments:

Erica said...

Drool. I love citrus! This looks really beautiful. I bet it'd be good on waffles

Maria said...

I would slather that on everything!! Looks fantastic!

Anonymous said...

I'm with you on the whole spoon licking thing with lemon curd. Oh, my, it is truly one of my favorite things. I keep promising myself I'm going to get a meyer lemon tree...

Diana said...

Is it weird that I just want to eat that straight out of the bowl with a spoon? It looks so inviting!

So what are you doing with the lemon curd? (Aside from licking it from the bowl and all)

La Cuisine d'Helene said...

20 pounds, that's a lot. You did something that looks really good.

The Duo Dishes said...

Is it really this easy! Imagine a lovely bunch of raspberries with this?

vanillasugarblog said...

realllllllly? never ever would have thought it was that good.
well, never tried it either, always assumed it was just sour pudding, but apparently I am wrongo.

Simones Kitchen said...

20 pounds of lemons... equals... how much curd? :) I totally love lemon and although I have never even heard of meyer lemons (which means they are not around here) I will certainly try this recipe! Sounds great!

Esi said...

Erica, I wish I had time to make some waffles. You're right, it would be really good on them!

Kelly, if you get a tree will you send some fruit my way? :)

Diana, wait and see :)

Helene and Junglefrog, it was actually about 10 pounds and I am still thinking of what to do with the regular lemons!

Dawn, curd has kind of a pudding-like texture, but I am telling you, you will love it.

veggie belly said...

i wish someone would give me 10 pounds of lemons! your lemon curd looks so yummy!

Summer said...

oooh. this looks so yummy!

Heather said...

oh my god. that looks insanely good. i'm so impressed that you made your own lemon curd!

Reeni said...

I have been wanting to make this! It looks so creamy and luscious! I'm not sure what I would do with it.

The Food Librarian said...

I love lemon curd. Isn't it amazing that it can have so many eggs in such a small batch?! Eeck. For the longest time, I thought curd was like jam - pretty fat free but with a few calories. Only when I started making it from scratch did I learn what was in it...not that it's a bad thing, just in moderation. :)

Hayley said...

Looks beautiful. You should take another look at the lemon round up I did a little while ago, if you need more recipes!

Alicia Foodycat said...

I love lemon curd! A jar and a spoon and I will be quiet for hours. At Christmas I had a lovely dessert which was a big meringue, with dried sour cherries cooked into it, cracked on top to make a shell and filled with lemon curd and marscarpone...

Unknown said...

i never thought much of it either until i made it for my mom :) now i need to make it for myself!!

Anonymous said...

would it be OK if I substitute the lemons for lime? Since that is all I have on hand right now and I really want to make it looks delicious

Esi said...

lilaznjewel, I haven't tried lime curd, but I don't see why it couldn't work in this recipe!

angela@spinachtiger said...

I am so jealous. I am in the lemonyist mood. Even craving lemonade. Putting lemons in beans, frostings, pasta. I've been looking at your food. We eat a lot alike. I am working hard on going totally organic.