D's Pink Grapefruit Curd

After our Sunday trek up the sand dunes in Marina, D and I stopped at the farmers' market. He picked up nearly a dozen organic pink grapefruit. Little did I know that he had a plan. A little while later, he sent me a link to a recipe for grapefruit curd ice cream. I interpreted that as: "Mom, can you make sure that we have all of these ingredients? I am going to make this."

Turns out I was mostly right. I did steer him away from that recipe and told him to just swap out freshly squeezed grapefruit juice for the lemon juice in my lemon curd recipe.

He did, but it wasn't pink enough for his liking, so he added several drops of a red plant-based food dye. "Mom," he noted, "this is a lot different than a chemical dye. I have to use a lot more...and it's still not really as bright as I want. But it'll have to do."

To use this in making Grapefruit Ice Cream (that recipe will be coming soon!), this needs be done ahead of time and makes more than you need.

Ingredients

makes 5 to 6 cups of curd

• 2 C freshly squeezed grapefruit juice
• 2 C organic granulated sugar
• 12 large eggs
• 24 T butter (3 sticks), cut into cubes
• Also needed: plant-based food dye (red), optional

Procedure

Whisk together juice, sugar, and eggs in a heavy saucepan. Over medium heat cook until the mixture goes from runny to syrupy, whisking continuously. Stir in butter and cook over moderately low heat, whisking frequently, until curd is thick enough to hold marks of whisk, approximately 6 to 7 minutes.

If using food dye, add a few drops at a time until you achieve the color you want. Whisk still fully incorporated.

Transfer curd to a bowl and cover its surface with plastic wrap or a piece of parchment paper. This prevents the top from forming a skin. Chill until cold before using - at least 1 hour, but preferably overnight.

Stay tuned for D's Grapefruit Curd Ice Cream recipe!