Lemon Curd - What is it Good For?

On NPR's Morning Edition this morning they talked with foodie and domestic goddess Nigella Lawson. She talked about cooking vegetables and the beautiful array of colors this time of year....she even had a vegetable dessert - a zucchini cake with lime curd between slices and cream cheese frosting on top.

That got us thinking, what the heck IS lime curd? Or lemon curd for that matter? So we posed it to listeners and sure enough, Joan from Boy River called in and told us about a recipe for lemon curd that she found online.

Here it is (from www.joyofbaking.com)

Lemon Curd Recipe:

3 large eggs
1/3 cup (80 ml) fresh lemon juice (2-3 lemons) (do not use the bottled lemon juice)
1 tablespoon (4 grams) finely shredded lemon zest
3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated white sugar
4 tablespoons (56 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature and cut into small pieces

In a stainless steel bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water, whisk together the eggs, sugar, and lemon juice until blended. Cook, stirring constantly (to prevent it from curdling), until the mixture becomes thick (like sour cream or a hollandaise sauce) (160 degrees F or 71 degrees C). This will take approximately 10 minutes. Remove from heat and immediately pour through a fine strainer to remove any lumps. Cut the butter into small pieces and whisk into the mixture until the butter has melted. Add the lemon zest and let cool. The lemon curd will continue to thicken as it cools. Cover immediately (so a skin doesn't form) and refrigerate for up to a week.

Makes 1 1/2 cups (360 ml).

Note: Room temperature lemons provide more juice. After squeezing, strain the juice to remove any pulp. Zest is the yellow, sweet-flavored outer rind of the lemon. A zester or fine grater can be used to remove the rind. Cold lemons are much easier to grate. Grate lemons just before using as the zest will lose moisture if it sits too long.

I also mentioned a website I had seen that lets you enter in the contents of your pantry/refrigerator/freezer and it will give you a recipe. One of those sites is called RecipeMatcher... you can also check here or here

What online food sites do you frequent? Post them here!