LFG, LMP (Lemon Meringue Pie)

GRANDDAD LOVED IT: IN THE BOOK IT GOES.

Lemon Meringue Pie was actually one of the first “Success” stories for me eleventy billion years ago.

Decided to try to make it on a whim and: crushed it. HADN’T MADE ONE in well over a decade, but decided to whip one up for a Sunday Dinner with my Grandfather recently because it seems LMP is: HIS FAVE. And he LOVED it. SO: LFG, LMP.

WHAT YOU NEED

1 pie Crust, pricked n par baked ahead of time (350 for 10 minutes oughta do it for most. Store bought is fine, or frustrate yourself and make pie crust with whatever recipe y’like). 9″ recommended. I go deep dish.

DRY INGREDIENTS

1 Cup Sugar
3 TBSP Cornstarch
2 TBSP AP FLOUR (if making GF, Either find an AP GF Flour you don’t hate OR: you can try adding this same amount of cornstarch to the already listed amount, but it may not make your pie set properly. White Rice Flour or Millet Flour may work too, haven’t tested it yet though.)
2 big pinches of kosher salt (or 1/4 tsp)

WET INGREDIENTS

1.5 CUPS Water
3 Lemons, Juiced and Zested (juice and zest in the same bowl, no seeds) ALSO: Lightly scrub and rinse em first BEFORE zesting, and remember to take the damned stickers off. I don’t wanna talk about that time. :)

NEXT STEPS INGREDIENTS

3 TBSP Butter *DF note below the recipe.
4 Egg Yolks (beaten lightly)

FOR THE MERINGUE

4 EGG WHITES: Do NOT allow ANY of the yolk to stay in these or your meringue is POOCHED.
1/2 Cup Sugar
Sprinkle or Two of Cream of Tartar if you have it on hand

THE METHOD

Big, heavy bottom pot on the stove.
Toss all your DRY ingredients into the pot, stir with a whisk to blend. Add in all the WET Ingredients and stir to combine. It will have an almost stringy-separated-eggs look to it, fret not; that’ll change to the perfect yellow later.
Stove to Medium-Medium/High, stirring pretty frequently until the mixture comes to a boil.
Add in the Butter, and stir to incorporate
Scoop a half cup ish of the boiling sugarlemongoo out and whisk it into the egg yolks a LITTLE AT A TIME. This is called “Tempering” your egg yolks. Once all mixed together, you can add the yolk mixture to the pot and stir well. (This step stops the eggs from going all scrambled-egg on you, and creates that smooth as silk filling we’re going for!)
Continue to boil, stirring frequently, until it’s thickened up to your desired consistency. If you think “Oh this is still just a bit too runny” it’s actually perfect. Scoop a spoonful out and leave it somewhere for a few mins to cool, you’ll see what I mean. it sets :)
REMOVE filling from heat and pour into PIE SHELL. (Highly recommend putting the pie shell onto a cookie sheet, JUST in case there’s spillover. )
PREHEAT OVEN NOW TO 350
EGG WHITES: Into a COLD Bowl, MIX with either a Stand Mixer OR Hand Mixer, until they start to get foamy. IF YOU HAVE IT: Sprinkle Cream Of Tartar onto eggs and continue beating.
SLOWLY add the 1/2 Cup sugar to the bowl while continuing to beat the egg whites like your life depends on it, until stiff peaks are formed. Will take a few minutes, should finish JUST as the oven preheats.
Drop the Meringue onto the pie, and spread to the edges to create a nice seal. Using a spatula, “bloop” the meringue to form some neat peaks all over. Yes, Bloop is a technical term.
Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 mins until your Meringue top turns a nice brown, OR if you’re impatient, 15 mins then VERY carefully broil the top to get some super pretty caramelization of the sugar in the meringue. ALTERNATELY: You can hit it with a torch after if you’re a super fancypants.
Remove from Oven and Allow to Cool, preferably for a few hours if possible, allowing everything to set nicely.

Since I made this on a day that was -25C here… I moved my Pie into the Garage shortly after it came out of the oven, and it hit the PERFECT consistency just before we transported it down to my Grandfather’s place!

REALLY Good chance this ends up being a puckers-the-lips-but-it’s-worth-it level tart treat. :)

DAIRY FREE SUBSTITUE: Replace the butter with your fave spread. I’m VERY partial to Becel vegan, as it’s the “butter” my eldest is used to. HOWEVER: in most cases, you may wanna reduce the added sale to offset the saltiness of the spread of choice.

NO Idea how to do this one Vegan btw, apologies.