Gregory Schaefer
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We're doing a little baking today using lemon. This recipe calls for the whole thing, peel and all. This is not really a kid-friendly dessert as the peel can be a bit bitter and freak them out. If you can, use a less acidic variety of lemon like Meyer or Pomona Sweet.
You'll need to make the "mascerated lemon." Very simply take 1 part of thinly sliced lemons and add it to 1 part sugar, stir well and let it sit overnight. If you've got a scale use it because you'll get the most accurate ratio of lemon to sugar by weight. To get 1 cup of mascerated lemons you'll need about two-thirds of a cup of lemon and two-thirds of a cup of sugar (basically one large lemon). The biggest challenge here is slicing your lemons as thinly as possible, for that I recommend a Japanese mandolin. Make sure to dispose of the seeds.
Let it sit overnight. The acid from the fruit melts the sugar and it all "cooks" down together, softening and jelling nicely. On the show I make an individual five-inch, deep-dish pie. If you want to make a larger, more traditional, nine-inch pie, double this recipe.
The sweetness from the berries and the lemony sugar pair so well with the mild bitter flavor and tartness from the peel.
Make your own crust as well. Making the crust is my favorite aspect of making pies. It takes practice to get this just right. My advice to everyone is "less is more" because if you work the dough too much you won't get a nice, flaky crust. I highly recommend using a scale for this. It's the best way to get accurate and perfect measurements.
First off, I use an organic, whole wheat pastry flour. I like using vodka in my recipe as well. Ice water works also, but the vodka is a cool trick. Apparently it evaporates quickly and in a lateral direction thus giving you larger gaps of air and a flakier crust. I usually double or triple the recipe because the dough freezes beautifully.
Shaker Lemon Pie with Blueberries
1 cup mascerated lemons
1/2 cup blueberries
1 1/2 tsp cornstarch
Pinch of salt
1 five-inch pie crust (recipe below)
Method
1. In a big bowl, stir together the mascerated lemons with your fruit. Do this gently. In fact, use your fingers.
2. Add the cornstarch and salt and keep moving things around with your fingers.
3. Pour the mixture into a prepared pie crust and bake at 350 degrees for one hour. Keep an eye on the pie; if the crust gets too dark on top, cover it with a sheet of aluminum foil.
4. Let it cool thoroughly and serve with some whipped cream or ice cream to help cut the acidity.
Pie Crust
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 stick butter, ice cold and cut into cubes
1/4 tsp of salt
1/2 to 1 oz of ice-cold vodka or water (1-2 tbsp)
Method
1. In a large bowl add flour and butter, toss to coat. With both hands, gently lift a half handful each of the mixture and rub between your thumbs and fingers.
2. You're gently breaking up the butter, rubbing in flour and aerating the pieces by dropping them down into the bowl. Don't over-do it. You want a bowl full of pea-sized drops of floured butterballs. This should take about three to five minutes. Work fast because the colder the butter is the better.
3. You can do all of this in a food processor too; just pulse it on and off until you have the pea-shaped pieces of dough.
4. Now add the salt and about half of the iced vodka (or water).
5. Gently press the dough together, if it is too dry add more of the iced vodka, you want to just gather it up and form a ball of dough. Don't kneed it or work it too much. It should be marbled and streaked with white smears of butter.
6. Wrap the dough in plastic and put it in the fridge for at least 15 minutes before rolling it out and using it to bake.
7. Rolling the dough is easy. Flour your hands, the work surface, the rolling pin, and let the dough warm up a little. Mold it into the shape of a disc and roll it away from you, from the middle out. Turn and flip the disc of dough frequently to get an even thickness and diameter. Dust with flour to keep it from sticking. Place it in your pie shell (I like ceramic or glass best).
Watch the video
Organic A to Z: L is for Lemon
More Organic A-Z
Ingredient Notes: Lemon
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