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:

• 2 eggs
• 3 egg yolks
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1/3  cup sugar
• 6 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces
• ¼ teaspoon salt (omit if using salted butter)
• 1/2 cup lemon juice and the zest

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

More Ideas:

• 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.