lick the bowl essentials: piquant lemon curd

How To Make lick the bowl essentials: piquant lemon curd

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  Step 1
  PREP/PREPARE
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  Step 2
  Gather your Ingredients (mise en place).
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  Step 3
  Make the lemon zest. Depending on the size of your lemons, this might take 2 or 3.
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  Step 4
  Add the sugar and the lemon zest to a saucepan or double boiler.
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  Step 5
  Use your fingers to rub the zest into the sugar.
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  Step 6
  This should take a few minutes. Keep rubbing until the mixture almost looks like wet yellow sand.
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  Step 7
  Squeeze the lemons. Depending on the size of your lemons, this might take 3 or 4.
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  Step 8
  Run the juice through a strainer to remove the pulp and any seeds.
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  Step 9
  Add the lemon juice to the sugar mixture.
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  Step 10
  Mix until the sugar is dissolved into the sugar/zest mixture.
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  Step 11
  Add the two whole eggs and the one egg yolk into a bowl, and mix until completely combined.
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  Step 12
  Add the eggs to the pan with the sugar/lemon/zest mixture, and whisk until totally combined.
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  Step 13
  Set the stovetop to low heat, and continuously stir, until the mixture coats the back of a spoon, and leaves a trail in the bottom of the pan when scraped over.
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  Step 14
  During this process, do not use high heat, and NEVER stop stirring. If you stop, you run the risk of cooking the eggs, and that might leave scrambled egg bits in the curd. We HATE it when that happens.
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  Step 15
  Remove from the heat, and add the butter cubes a few at a time, and stir until they are all absorbed into the curd.
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  Step 16
  Add to a non-reactive bowl, and allow to cool. Then, cover and place into the fridge until ready to use.
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  Step 17
  To Strain, or Not to Strain… That is the Question Most recipes recommend that you strain the curd before storing. That will eliminate any bits of cooked egg and remove the lemon zest. But, if you make it right, you will not have any cooked eggs, and I like leaving the zest in, so I typically do not strain the curd… Up to you.
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  Step 18
  PLATE/PRESENT
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  Step 19
  Serve it in a cup, a small puff pastry, or use it in something like a custard tart or pie. Enjoy.
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  Step 20
  Keep the faith, and keep cooking.
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  Step 21
  Namaste’
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