Last week, my son T not so subtly said to me at the breakfast table, “I like pie.”  I asked him, “3.1415…?” He laughed and said, yes, he liked that pi, too (and he has it memorized to 28 decimal places at this point, so he really does like it), but he meant the kind of pie you eat.  I asked him what kind of pie he liked, and he said without hesitation, “Pumpkin.”  Unfortunately, I didn’t get around to making it for him last week.

Yesterday at breakfast, T once again announced, “I like pie.”  I again asked what kind he liked.  He replied, “Lemon.”  Since we had lemons on the counter that needed to get used up and I wanted to make a gluten free version of this pie so I could try it, T got his lemon pie yesterday.

This pie is intensely flavorful.  I like things like lemon cake and lemon bread, but this was too much for me.  I could only handle about two bites.  If you love lemon, then it’s for you.  All three lemon-loving males in the household love it.

When it comes to water measurements for pie crusts, I find them hopelessly useless.  I always get a small glass of water and slowly add it a tablespoon or so at a time (just dumping it in, not measuring) until I get the dough to the right consistency.  The dough should be soft enough to hold together in a ball shape but not so soft that it’s gooey.  Whatever water is left in the glass after the dough is made, I drink.  It gets more water in me which is always a good thing.

Gluten Free Lemon Chess Pie

Filling recipe barely changed from Phoo-d.com; pie crust of my own creation.

Makes 1- 9″ Pie

Filling Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups organic granulated sugar
Zest of 3 large organic lemons (about 2 tablespoons)
Juice of 3 large organic lemons (about ¾ cup)
5 large organic eggs
1/3 cup organic salted butter, melted and cooled

Crust ingredients:
5 tablespoons organic brown rice flour
5 tablespoons organic tapioca starch
5 tablespoons almond meal
5 tablespoons sorghum flour
½ teaspoon xanthan gum
¼ teaspoon sea salt
1/3 cup organic palm shortening
1 organic egg
water

Directions:
To make the pie crust, stir together the brown rice flour, tapioca starch, almond meal, sorghum flour, xanthan gum and sea salt.  Cut the shortening into the flour using a fork until the mixture is crumbly.  Beat the egg in a small bowl and then stir into the flour mixture.  Slowly add water about a tablespoon at a time to moisten the dough.  It should form a ball but not be sticky.  Scoop the dough into a 9” pie pan and use your fingers to press it into the pan. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Place the sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and butter in a food processor, and blend using an s-blade until combined.  Slowly add in the eggs (I use a 2 cup measuring cup to pour them in) while the food processor is running.

Pour the filling into the pie shell.  Carefully transfer the pie into the oven to avoid any spills.  Bake until the filling begins to brown, about 45 minutes.

Cool the pie and serve.  We prefer to refrigerate ours before eating.

©NaturallyElizabeth.com