MAKES ABOUT 3 CUPS/720 ML
Lemons have been part of the Spanish landscape for many centuries and are an important ingredient in countless cakes, pastries, and desserts. In Galicia, cooks sometimes convert them into a creamy sweet spread with eggs, sugar, and butter. It’s downright gorgeous in its luminous golden yellow color, and the generous hit of tart-sweetness is simply divine. Similar to English lemon curd, it perhaps shows some relatively modern influences from Great Britain. One of those surely came during the century that the British navy used the estuary of Arousa, on the western Galician coast, for fleet maneuvers. (That stopped with the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936.) Galicia is the part of Spain that lies closest to the British Isles, and links between the regions are deeply felt in Galicia’s strong Celtic heritage. (Or at least heard. The traditional Galicia musical instrument is the gaita, similar in sound to the bagpipe.) This recipe is loosely adapted from one of Galicia’s greatest literary chroniclers and food writers, Álvaro Cunqueiro. It is excellent spread over a piece of flaky bizcocho cake (see page 279) or slice of toast, or else dolloped on a bowl of natural yogurt.
1. Scrub the lemons. If waxed, dunk the lemons in boiling water and firmly wipe off the wax. Zest the lemons into a bowl, grating only the yellow part. (The white pith is bitter.) Halve the lemons crosswise and juice them into the bowl. Whisk in the eggs and then the sugar. Spoon the mixture into a small saucepan or metal bowl along with the butter.
2. Heat a large pan of water on the stove, and place the saucepan inside in the manner of a water bath. Over low heat, heat the mixture, stirring continually with a wooden spoon to keep the eggs from curdling, until it turns a paler color and coats the back of a spoon, 8 to 12 minutes.
3. Pour through a conical strainer or chinois and into sterilized wide-mouthed glass canning jars. Let cool completely, tightly cover, and refrigerate. It will keep up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator.
