This fabulous recipe is from Alice Waters’ The Art of Simple Food cookbook. The ingredients are simple, as is the method to make it. Using fresh lemon juice, farm-fresh eggs, and organic sugar, it's a wholesome treat — especially when eaten in moderation. Lemon curd is delightful on its own, but I've included some additional serving suggestions after the recipe.
2 to 3 lemons
2 eggs
3 egg yolks
2 tablespoons milk
1/3 cup sugar
6 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces
1/4 teaspoon salt (omit if using salted butter)
Wash and dry the lemons.
Grate the zest of one of the lemons on the small holes of a grater, or use a Microplane. Juice the lemons; there should be about ½ cup juice.
Add these ingredients to a small nonreactive heavy pan:
Beat until just mixed.
Cook the mixture, stirring constantly, over medium heat, until it is thick enough to coat a spoon. Do not boil, or the eggs will curdle.
When thick, pour into a bowl or glass jars to cool. Cover and refrigerate.
Lemon curd ready to cover and chill
Microplane for zesting and grating
• With their sweeter juice and perfumed peel, Meyer lemons make an especially good curd. Make the recipe with the juice of 1 regular lemon and 3 Meyer lemons and the grated zest of 2 Meyer lemons.
• To make a frosting, fold lightly sweetened whipped cream into lemon curd. I usually use equal parts of whipped cream and curd.
• To make a lemon curd tarte, prebake an 9-inch sweet tarte shell and fill with 2 cups lemon curd. Smooth out the curd and bake in a preheated 375° F oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until the lemon curd is set.
Lemon curd tarte made with pate brisée.
Pate brisée — recipe coming soon
Lemon curd with homemade whipped cream — the perfect portion size
Lemon curd is one of my go-to desserts for vacation because it's so simple to make and it's fabulous with fresh fruit.
If you have leftover lemon juice, store it in a jar and use it for chicken piccata or baked chicken thighs, pesto, and salad dressings — like lemon dressing and Caesar dressing.
You'll find lemon juice sprinkled throughout many of my recipe ideas — it's one of the 8 Essential Ingredients in my upcoming book.
