Amazing pie, from the cover of Bon Apetite Magazine, April 2007. From their R.S.V.P. column. This recipe comes from Jamie's Restaurant in Pensacola, FL. I served it at Memorial Day family get-together, and everyone said it was amazing. I agree. A bit time consuming to put together, but SO worth it! Time to make is an estimate (I didn't really keep track.) Freezing times are included in the "passive cooking time".
Whisk in sugar, lemon juice, lemon peel and salt. Gradually whisk in eggs yolk mixture. (Thin stream and whisk constantly, be careful not to cook the eggs. May want the egg yolks at room temperature before beginning this step.).
04Continue cooking and whisking until thick and thermometer reads 178-180 degrees F, about 8 minutes. (I was unable to get my mixture above 162, even after turning water up to boiling and cooking for 14 minutes, but it seemed thick, so I stopped for fear of over cooking, and it turned out fine.).
05Transfer curd to a small bowl and cover with plastic wrap pressed down to the surface. Chill for a minimum of 4 hours.
06NOTE: Curd can be made up to 2 days ahead.
07For the crust: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
08Mix together pecans, sugar and butter in a medium bowl until moistened. Press into a 9-inch glass pie dish--mixture will be crumbly. (I used a 10-inch glass pie dish.).
09Bake crust until lightly toasted, about 12 minutes. Crust will slip down the sides of the dish. Use the back of a spoon to press crust back into place.
10Cool crust on a rack. Freeze crust for 30 minutes.
11Dollop 1 1/2 cups of the softened ice cream into the bottom of the crust and spread into an even layer. Spread the lemon curd over the ice cream and freeze until firm, about 2 hours. (Note: I froze after putting in the first ice cream layer, too, for about 30 minutes.).
12Spread the additional 1 1/2 cups of softened ice cream over the curd and freeze until firm, about 2 hours.
13For the meringue: Using an electric mixer, beat egg whites in a medium bowl until frothy. Beat in cream of tartar. With mixer running, gradually add sugar. Beat until stiff peaks form. Spoon meringue over pie, swirling decoratively.
14NOTE: All steps above can be done up to one day ahead of time. Freeze pie until ready to brown the meringue.
15To finish the pie, using a kitchen butane torch, toast the meringue until golden in spots or place pie in a preheated 500 degree F oven until meringue is golden in spots, watching to prevent burning (about 3 minutes). (I used the oven method.).