GourmetRecipe of the Week

Meringue shells with lemon curd and mixed berries

This is a reinterpretation from Chef Gianpiero Cravero of the Anglo-Saxon dessert lemon curd, which is placed in meringue shells and topped with mixed berries. We pair it with a Valdobbiadene Superiore di Cartizze Dry Drusian.

Ingredients for 4 people:

For the meringue shells: 150g room-temperature egg whites, 300g sugar and 1 vanilla bean.

For the lemon curd: 2 lemons, 3 whole eggs + 2 yolks, 220g sugar, 100g butter and 30g cornstarch.

For the garnish: mixed berries as desired and candied orange peel.

Directions:

For the meringue:

Mix the sugar together with the seeds from the vanilla bean. Whip up the egg whites until stiff (using a blender or electric whisk) and when they become white add the sugar little by little while continuing to whip for another 5-10 minutes.

Put the whipped egg whites into a pastry bag. Place some silicon molds on a dripping pan covered with parchment paper and line them with the egg whites to create shells. As an alternative, you can make the shells without using molds by creating them in spirals using the pastry bag.

Bake the shells for around 3 hours at 100°C with the oven door half-open to avoid creating any humidity (we suggest using a wooden spoon to keep the oven open).

For the lemon curd:

Grate the peels of 2 lemons, squeeze the juice out of them and then filter it before mixing in the cornstarch that has been sifted.

Melt the butter, in pieces, at a low heat bain-marie and then stir in the sugar until it becomes a cream.

Whip the eggs with a whisk and add them into the cream and, while continuing to stir, add in the lemon juice with the cornstarch and the grated lemon peel, always stirring.

Let the cream thicken at a low heat (always bain-marie) to ensure the egg does not lump up. Turn off the heat once the cream sticks to a wooden spoon without dripping.

Filter the curd to remove any lumps.

Fill the meringue shells with lemon curd and cover them with an abundant amount of berries and candied orange peel.

Wine to pair:

Valdobbiadene Superiore di Cartizze Dry Drusian

Straw yellow color with golden hints, fine and persistent perlage. On the nose fruity notes of apple and pear, white acacia blossom. On the palate finely aromatic and elegant taste.

Production area: the Docg hills of Valdobbiadene, Cartizze area. Altitude of the vineyards 350-400 meters, southern exposure, calcareous clay soil, sandstone. The hilly morphology combined with exposure to the sun and the particular microclimate give this wine structural elegance and aromatic finesse.

Grape varieties: 100% Glera with double-arched cane training system, density of 3,000 vines per hectare.

Harvest: grapes are hand-picked in mid-September.

Vinification: white wine process with soft pressing. Secondary fermentation in stainless-steel tanks, according to the Martinotti Charmat method for 70-80 days at 15-16 C°.

Alcohol content: 11% vol.

Sugar residue: 19-21 g/l.

Serving temperature: 6-8°C.

Recommended food pairings: dessert wine especially accompanied with leavened cakes, panettone and pandoro and with dry pastries. It can also be paired with shellfish and with mild spicy Asian dishes.

THIS RECIPE IS OFFERED BY DRUSIAN

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