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This newsletter is about Thanksgiving and Lemon Curd Pie.
November 27, 2011
Hi ,
I just got back from Thanksgiving at my cousin's house. We have been doing a potluck Thanksgiving rotating between various family members' houses for as long as I can remember, beginning with the traditional gathering at my maternal Grandmother's house in Placerville when I was a child. Everyone seems to be getting older somehow, but otherwise pretty much the same.
Food preparation for these events has been getting more complex as various people discover different foods that don't work for them. Desserts are especially challenging so we usually end up with several renditions of family favorites with various ingredients missing - dairy free, gluten free, sugar free and so on.
One cousin decided it was too stressful to try to make a turkey stuffing that was gluten free, but then forgot to put the bread crumbs into the stuffing anyway, so I was able to have some stuffing this year after all. Somehow we managed to have a good time with lots of good conversation all around.
One hit of the evening was my Lemon Curd "Pie". Our host this year, who has diabetes concerns, was especially thrilled as my "Pie" was the first dessert he has been able to have in months.
My 'Pie" was actually an almond shortbread drowned in traditional zesty lemon curd. For those of you not familiar with lemon curd, think of the lemon part of a lemon meringue pie only richer and creamier. The really sweet part of my version is that it is made with my sugar substitute, ghee, and with blanched almond flour. Although it tastes just like real lemon curd and real shortbread, it is actually gluten free, dairy free, and sugar free/ low carb. This makes it ideal for anyone with diabetes, or on a low carb or gluten free eating restriction.
 Even though the lemons on the tree by my front door started turning yellow last week, we picked up a bag of lemons for this treat as I needed 8-9 ripe ones for this double recipe. This batch was for a crowd of 16 so I was using a large 10 X 14 glass baking pan to make this in. The key to a good tart lemon curd is the lemon zest. Use a vegetable peeler to peel off just the yellow part of the lemons before you juice them without getting the more bitter white part of the peel in with the zest. I used the zest from all 9 lemons and just tossed them into my Vita Mix blender. I then juiced the lemons to get 1 1/2 cups of juice and put it into the blender with the zest then blended the two together until smooth.
Lemon curd is basically a lemon juice, egg, sugar, and butter custard. To eliminate the parts of butter that are of concert to those with allergies or lactose intolerance, I simply clarify the butter (making a ghee) which removes the milk proteins and sugars. To eliminate the damaging effects of sugar (both on the pancreas/insulin function and the effects of fructose on the liver) I use my double sugar substitute made from erythritol and stevia. These have no effect on blood sugar or liver functioning and actually improve pancreas functioning. Eliminating gluten was simply a matter of substituting almond flour for the wheat flour in the shortbread recipe. I made the shortbread dough and squashed it into the bottom of the pan and baked it for about 15 minutes. (Watch it closely as I have burned them in the past.)
Almond Shortbread
3 cups almond flour (or wheat flour if not gluten sensitive)
½ cup ghee (or softened butter if not dairy sensitive)
½ cup double sugar substitute
(or 1 cup sugar if you don't have a liver or pancreas)
½ Tsp. Sea salt
1 large egg
Throw all these ingredients into a bowl and mix together well. Evenly mash the resulting dough into the bottom of a 10x14 glass pan (or 9x7 pan if doing a half recipe). Bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes - watch closely for slight, gentle browning. Pull out of the oven and let it cool.
Lemon Curd
8-9 lemons - zest peeled from
1 cup ghee (or soft unsalted butter)
1 ½ cups fresh squeezed lemon juice
2 cups Dr. Dave Double Sugar Subsitute
12 eggs (free range, organic, etc...)
¼ Tsp. sea salt
sour salt (citric acid) to taste
Peel your zest from your fresh lemons (3-4 lemons for a mild curd and 8-9 for a really tart curd) and put it into a blender along with the fresh squeezed lemon juice. Blend until the zest is pulverized. Blend in the sugar substitute and salt and ghee (butter). Then add in the eggs while blending on low one at a time. Once the mixture is well blended, taste it to see if it is tangy enough for you. If you  want it to have more tang then add in citric acid (found in the canning section of the store) ¼ Tsp. at a time until it is how you like it. Citric acid is what they use to make sour candies and sodas taste sour.
Once it is to your liking, pour the liquid blend into a deep saucepan and heat on medium while stirring constantly. Just before it reaches the simmer stage the mixture will thicken up (at 170 degrees if you are using a thermometer.) Remove from heart once thickened - Do not bring it to a boil. Pour the hot lemon curd over your shortbread in the baking pan. Let it cool, then cut with a sharp knife and enjoy.
I hope you had a joyful Thanksgiving,
Take care,
David
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