edna lewis and scott peacock's lemon chess pie
This recipe comes from The Gift of Southern Cooking, a cookbook collaboration between Edna Lewis and Scott Peacock. The two chefs were close friends; in fact, Edna spent the last six years of her life living with Scott, who served as her caretaker. According to The New York Times, “Their long association—between a widowed African-American doyenne and a young, white, gay Southern chef—earned them the name The Odd Couple of Southern Cooking.”
This particular recipe from this particular friendship seems extra special. For Edna, chess pie was her favorite (she was perhaps best known for her Tyler Pie recipe, a chess pie from her native Virginia). For Scott, a bite of lemon chess pie is what initially inspired him to cook traditional Southern food.
This lemon chess has less sugar and more lemon than most. It’s tart and sweet, with a golden-brown, crackly top. For those who don’t like the gloopy sweetness of lemon meringue, it tastes like the antithesis to that. But most of all, this recipe comes from the love between two friends and their love of traditional Southern pie. And that’s exactly what it tastes like.
Edna Lewis and Scott Peacock’s Lemon Chess Pie
Slightly adapted from The Gift of Southern Cooking by Edna Lewis and Scott Peacock.
I use my pie dough recipe and par-bake the crust. My only change to the filling is the option to use yellow cornmeal for white; I’ve also included weight measurements for the sugar. You’ll need about 3-4 lemons. The key to this recipe is to use ALL THE INGREDIENTS AT ROOM TEMPERATURE. Otherwise, any cold ingredients will cause the butter to re-solidify and separate from the mixture.
Makes one 9-inch pie.
INGREDIENTS
1/2 recipe the butter lab’s pie dough (for a single-crust pie, par-baked and cooled)
4 eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups (297 grams) granulated sugar
1 tablespoon white (or yellow) cornmeal
1 tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
1/2 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice, at room temperature
1 tablespoon lemon zest, packed tightly
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
METHOD
Position oven rack in the center position, and preheat the oven to 350°F.
Place the eggs in a large mixing bowl, and whisk briefly to blend. One at a time, whisk in the rest of the ingredients, blending until each ingredient has been incorporated before proceeding to the next.
Pour the filling into the par-baked pie crust and bake for 30-40 minutes, until the pie is golden brown on top and almost set. (The center of the pie should remain slightly loose; it will set as it cools.) Cool completely on a cooling rack and serve at room temperature, with or without whipped cream.