Ingredients:

Your favorite Pie Dough for a one-crust pie

Filling:
2 cups milk
2/3 cup sugar
3 to 4 medium lemons
1/4 cup cornstarch
4 egg yolks
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

Meringue:
4 egg whites
2/3 cup sugar
Pinch of salt

Cooking Recipe:

Prepare and chill the dough.

Filling: To make the filling, combine the milk and sugar in a nonreactive saucepan, preferably enameled iron. Strip the zest from the lemons with a sharp vegetable peeler, making sure you remove the yellow zest but none of the white pith beneath. If you (or anyone else) do remove some of the white pith, scrape it off the strips of zest with the point of a paring knife and discard it. Add the zest to the milk and sugar and bring to a simmer over low heat. Remove from the heat and allow to steep for 5 minutes; remove the strips of zest with a slotted spoon or skimmer and discard them.

Squeeze the lemons to make 1/2 cup strained juice. Place the juice in a mixing bowl and whisk (means to beat lightly with a whisking utensil) in the cornstarch, then yolks.

Return the milk and sugar mixture to a boil over low heat and whisk (beat lightly over the top with a whisking utensil, or a fork) about a third of the boiling milk into the lemon juice mixture. Return the remaining milk and sugar mixture to a boil once more and whisk (means to beat lightly with a whisking utensil) the lemon juice and yolk mixture back into it, whisking constantly until the filling comes to a boil and thickens. Allow to boil, whisking constantly, for about 30 seconds. Remove from the heat, whisk in the butter, and pour into a nonreactive bowl. Press plastic wrap against the surface of the filling and chill until it is approximately 75 degrees. (If you prepare the filling in advance, let it come to room temperature before proceeding.)

Set a rack at the middle level of the oven (don't spill oil in it, or it may smoke up) and preheat to 350 degrees.

Roll out the dough to make a bottom crust and arrange in the pan and create a decorative edge. Chill the crust until firm, about 20 minutes.

To bake the crust, pierce it all over with the tines of a fork at 1/2-inch intervals. Line it with a disk of parchment or wax paper and fill with cherry stones or dried beans. Bake for about 20 minutes, until lightly colored. Remove the paper and beans and continue baking until the crust is a deep golden brown. Cool the crust on a rack.

Spread the cooled filling evenly in the cooled crust. Increase the oven temperature to 400 degrees.

To make the meringue, bring a small pan of water to a boil. Lower the heat so that the water simmers. Combine the ingredients in the bowl of a mixer or, if you are using a hand whisk, in another heatproof bowl. Place the bowl over the pan of simmering water and whisk the egg white mixture gently for about 2 minutes, until the egg whites are hot (about 140 degrees) and the sugar has dissolved. Whip the meringue on medium speed until it has cooled and is able to hold a shape, but it should not look dry. Distribute spoonfuls of the meringue all over the top of the pie, then use the back of a spoon or a small offset metal spatula (utensil with a flat surface useful in flipping items being cooked, or spreading) to spread the meringue evenly. It should cover the top of the pie and touch the edges of the crust all around. Here and there, bring up the surface of the meringue so that it is swirled. Place the pie on a cookie sheet and bake for 5 to 10 minutes, until the meringue is colored evenly.

Cool on a rack.