Strawberry Lemon Meringue Pie
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Strawberry Lemon Meringue Pie

Servings

1 pie

Prep time

30

minutes
Cooking time

40

minutes
Total time

1

hour 

10

minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 cup unsalted butter

  • 2 cup flour (unbleached)

  • 1 teaspoon Salt

  • 1 cup ice water (up to 1/3 of cup (may vary))

  • 1 pint strawberries (fresh)

  • 4 tablespoon flour

  • 1 1/2 cup cold water

  • 2 egg yolks

  • 1 cup sugar (I used turbinado (or raw) sugar so the curd wasn’t that yellow)

  • 4 tablespoon lemon juice ( or juice from two whole lemons)

  • 8 tablespoon unsalted butter ( the original recipe only called for 4 tbsp, but it wasn’t rich enough)

  • 1 grated lemon rind from whole lemon (I used an orange as I didn’t have a fresh lemon)

  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch (optional (if needed))

  • 2 egg whites

  • 4 tablespoon sugar

  • grains of salt (literally have to take 4 to 10 individual grains)

  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (alternate is 1/4 tsp lemon extract)

Directions

  • Pastry:
  • Cut butter into 1/2-inch (1 cm) cubes; set aside in refrigerator. In food processor, blend flour with salt. Sprinkle 1/4 cup butter over top; pulse until indistinguishable, about 10 seconds. Sprinkle with reserved butter; pulse 4 or 5 times to cut into pea-size pieces.
  • Pour about 1/2 of water evenly over mixture (not through feed tube). Pulse 6 to 8 times until loose ragged dough forms (do not let form ball); adding 1 tablespoon of water as needed after first 3 or 4 pulses. Transfer to floured waxed paper; gather and press into rectangle. Dust with flour; top with waxed paper. Roll out into 15- x 12-inch (38 x 30 cm) rectangle.
  • Fold over one-third of dough; fold opposite long edge over top, bringing flush with edge of first fold to make 15- x 4-inch (38 x 10 cm) rectangle. Starting from 1 short end, roll up firmly; flatten into 5-inch (12 cm) square. Wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour. (Make-ahead: Refrigerate for up to 5 days or freeze in airtight container for up to 2 weeks.)
  • Roll out pie shell & line pie plate, pierce with fork. Cook, lined with parchment paper & enough dry beans to weigh it down in 350 F oven about 20 to 25 minutes (until golden brown). Remove from oven & let cool.
  • Place washed & core strawberries. Pat dry. Place flat end down (pointy end up) in precooked pie shell.
  • Lemon Curd:
  • Make a smooth paste of the flour & 4 tbsp of cold water. Cook the rest of the water, the sugar, grated lemon rind & butter. When the sugar is dissolved and mixture is boiling, stir in the flour mixture slowly. Cook until clear & smooth, about 15 minutes. Add lemon juice and beaten egg yolk; cook about two minutes while stirring. If not thick enough can add cornstarch while whisking. Let cool slightly so not boiling.
  • Pour over berries & let cool
  • Meringue:
  • Beat egg whites until stiff, add sugar gradually and continue beating until the mixture is ‘fine grained’ (I took this to mean looks dry) and will hold its shape. Add salt & vanilla while beating.
  • Spread meringue evenly over the pie, using a metal spatula
  • Bake at a low temperature 300 F to 325 F until lightly browned. (I slightly overcooked mine as you can see by the picture; you have to watch or it will burn).
  • Remove from oven & let cool completely before putting it in the fridge or the meringue will ‘sweat’ and separate/slide from the pie