Kelly’s Meyer Lemon Semifreddo
Kelly’s Meyer Lemon Semifreddo ~ a favorite ~ from the 2024 SVS Winter Crabfeast with Mayday.
8 whole Meyer lemons, plus 2 more for zesting
1 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
¼ teaspoon sea salt
6 egg yolks
¾ cup meyer lemon juice
1 ¾ cup whipping cream
Zest of two lemons
Prepare the lemons by cutting them in half across the middle, making sure to keep each bottom with its respective top. To create the lemon cups, use a small spoon, and run it between the fruit and the pith of the lemon, releasing the fruit in the middle in one piece. Once all the lemons have been scooped out, trim a small slice off the bottom of each lemon, to create a flat surface for the lemon to stand on. Once filled, the lemons will be put back together, looking like a whole lemon so you need the bottom to be level. Place the juiced lemon halves on a sheet tray in the freezer until the filling is made.
Squeeze out the juice of all the lemon pulp that was scooped out. You should have ¾ cup. If there’s more, reserve it for a different use, if you don’t have enough juice, juice a few more lemons. Pour the juice in a pot and place over a medium flame and let it reduce by one third. In the end, you want ½ a cup of very concentrated lemon juice.
To make the sabayon, pour the reduced lemon juice into a metal bowl and allow it to cool slightly. Add the sugar, salt and egg yolks and place this over a double boiler. Gently whisk the mixture and cook it until it reaches 170 °F . Then pour it into the bowl of a stand mixer and whisk it on a medium-high speed until the mixture cools and doubles in size, about 6 minutes. At this point, the mixture should hold a ribbon as you move it.
While the sabayon is whipping, whip the cream in another bowl until it holds soft peaks. Fold in the zest of two lemons.
Using a spatula, fold the whipped cream into the sabayon mixture and taste it to adjust the seasoning, adding more salt or lemon zest to taste. Scoop this mixture into the lemon halves and level them off with a knife so it’s a smooth surface. Place the lemon halves back into the freezer to chill a minimum of 4 hours, better yet, overnight. The remainder of your filling can be poured into a parchment lined loaf tin, and sliced to serve. Assemble the lemons back together before serving.
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