I had never made a Shaker Lemon Pie before, but a large bag of lemons left over from a photo-shoot inspired me to find ways to cook using lemons. As you may know, the recipe involves zesting 2 lemons and then slicing them paper thin, mixing the zest and lemon slices with sugar, and letting the mixture macerate for at least 4 or 5 hours. You then mix it in with 4 beaten eggs and 2 tablespoons of flour (making it I suppose, a custard pie,) fill your crust and bake. Inspired by the recent rhubarb discussion, I decided to add some rhubarb I had bought the Saturday before at the farmers' market to the mix. Just as I was going to weave the lattice on top, I said to my wife Meg who was watching, "you know I bet this would look really wonderful with a layer of blueberries on top." She nodded her head approvingly, so I did just that.
I'm telling you people, if the DEA finds out about this they will make it a controlled substance. It was that good! The rhubarb was totally drowned out by the tartness of the lemons, and the blueberries mostly only served to add color interest, but none the less it was sensational... and even better the second and third days! My Goodness!
So this inspired two thoughts about future pies. First, if I reduced the lemons to one thereby reducing its dominance, it seems to me you could make mixed fruit pies that would really sing with flavor and tartness. Second, why not try thickening any fruit pie with both eggs and flour as this recipe does? Normally I use a combination of flour and instant tapioca to thicken my pies but this one really made me think that the addition of eggs might be something to explore. Have any of you tried this? I thought I might try using say, 2 eggs and 2 tablespoons of flour in my next fruit pie and see what happens. I think you'll agree with me that if nothing else, it sure does look good.