Old-Fashioned Lemon Pudding

I have more good news to share with you. The folks at Tillamook Cheese are featuring our Creamy Broccoli and Cheddar Soup on their site - they're calling it calling it Soup of the Gods. We also received a nod for our Pumpkin Butter in the on-line Health and Fitness section of Glamour magazine.

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Today's recipe is for an old-fashioned pudding that lemon-lovers will really enjoy. I want to emphasize that this is a pudding, not a curd. A curd contains no cornstarch and the only liquid used to make it is the juice of lemons. Lemon fillings and puddings, however, are made with water or milk and use cornstarch or potato starch as a thickener. Like most old recipes, this one is simple and quite straight forward. It is tart. If you have small children you might want to use less zest than the recipe calls for. While I hate to suggest that, I think it's better than adding additional sugar. Make sure you remove only the yellow colored portion of rind. The white pith will make the pudding bitter. I've found that two large lemons will give the juice and zest I need to make this. This is a wonderful, inexpensive family dessert.

Old-Fashioned Lemon Pudding...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch or potato starch
2-1/2 cups milk
3 large egg yolks, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons butter, softened

Directions:
1) Place sugar and cornstarch/potato starch  in a 2-quart saucepan. Whisk to combine. Gradually add milk, whisking until smooth. Add egg yolks, lemon zest and salt. Cook, stirring, over medium-high heat until sauce thickens and coats a spoon.
2) Remove pan from heat. Stir in lemon juice and butter. Pour through a fine mesh strainer into a large bowl or individual serving dishes. Let cool to room temperature. Cover with plastic wrap. Transfer to refrigerator for 2 hours, or until set. Serve chilled. Yield: 4 -6 servings.