Really Good Lemon Meringue Pie
There are some things that one hankers for from childhood days. For me, the type of lemon meringue pie that was popular when I was a child is not one of them, as the filling, made from packet ingredients, had a distinctive, rather gluey texture. Needless to say, this pie is nothing like that. The filling resembles a clean, fresh-tasting, light home-made lemon curd, which is highlighted by the hint of cardamom in the pastry, and the cloud of meringue on top has a delicious, light lemony flavour.
INGREDIENTS:
PATESUCREE MADE WITH 150 G/5 OZ PLAIN FLOUR;
100 G131/2 OZ UNSALTED BUTTER,
DICED; APPROXIMATELY 3A-I TSP
CARDAMOM SEEDS, DRY-FRIED
THEN GROUND; 2 TSP ICING SUGAR
AND 2 TBPS WHITE WINE OR WATER
FILLING AND MERINGUE: FINELY GRATED RIND AND JUICE OF 2 LARGE, JUICY LEMONS
250 G/9 OZ CASTER SUGAR
2 WHOLE EGGS
3 EGGS, SEPARATED 100 G/31/2 OZ UNSALTED BUTTER, DICED
FINELY GRATED RIND OF 1 MORE LARGE LEMON
DIRECTIONS:
First, make the pastry. Sift the flour into a howl, toss in the butter, then rub in until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in the cardamom seeds, icing sugar and sufficient wine or water to make a soft but not sticky dough. Cover and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Butter a deep 20 cm/8 inch flan tin. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pastry and use to line the tin. Prick the base of the pastry case, cover and chill for 30 minutes.
Set the oven to 190°C/375°F/Gas 5. Place a baking sheet. in the oven.
Place the flan tin On the baking sheet and bake the pastry case blind for 10 minutes. Remove the paper and beans and return the pastry case to the oven for 5-10 minutes until pale biscuit coloured. Leave to cool.
To make the filling, put the lemon rind and juice, 115 fl oz of the sugar and the whole eggs and egg yolks in a heatproof bowl. Place over a saucepan of hot water and gradually stir in the butter using a wooden spoon. Continue to stir for about 15-20 minutes until the mixture thickens. Leave to cool.
To make the meringue. in a clean, dry bowl, whisk the 3 egg whites until soft peaks form, then gradually whisk in the remaining sugar, whisking well after each addition, until the mixture is stiff and shiny. Acid the rind of the extra lemon with the last addition.
Spoon the lemon mixture evenly into the pastry case and cover completely with the meringue, taking particular care that there are no gaps next to the pastry shell. Bake fin- 10-15 minutes until the meringue is lightly browned and crisp on top but still soft inside.
VARIATION:
To make a meringue nest topping, reserve 11/2 tablespoons of the lemon mixture. Using a palette knife, spread two-thirds of the meringue over the lemon mixture in the pastry case to make a
plateau about 1.25 cml 1/2 inch high. Put the remaining meringue into a piping bag fitted with a 1.2.5 cm11/2 inch plain nozzle and pipe 8 small nests on top. Rake for 10-15 minutes. 13(fore serving, divide the reserved lemon mixture between the nests.
