Recently, I posted recipes featuring popular summer fruits including peaches, watermelon and strawberries. All are abundant this time of year and each has its own uniquely delicious flavor. Still, for me summer is just not summer without making at least one guava dish.
I grew up on the Big Island of Hawaii where tropical fruits such as guava and lilikoi can be found in practically every backyard. We had a guava tree in our yard (actually, it’s still there and still bearing fruit) and my brothers would often help my grandfather pick the juicy round fruit with the light pink interior to share with his elderly homebound friends.
Now that I live 5,000 miles away from my island home finding fresh guavas is a bit more challenging. You can get the fruit at some specialty stores and they are easy to find at markets along the West Coast, but here in the Midwest I often have to settle for frozen juice concentrates to get my guava fix.
The following recipe for Guava Meringue Pie is a great way to employ guava juice on a hot summer day. What’s more, the frozen juice concentrate is far less expensive than fresh guavas and you can use the leftovers to make a pitcher of juice.
Like most meringues this pie is light and creamy, but it takes time and will give your electric mixer a workout. But in the end your hard work and patience will be rewarded with a fluffy, cool guavalicous treat.
GUAVA MERINGUE PIE
Ingredients for Pie Shell:
2 egg whites
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 cup sugar
Ingredients for Filling:
4 egg yolks
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup frozen guava juice concentrate, undiluted, thawed
1 teaspoon grated lemon or orange rind
2 cups whipped cream
Directions:
Preheat oven to 275 degrees.
Grease a 9-inch pie pan.
To make the shell: Beat egg whites with salt and cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar, beating until stiff peaks form. Spread on bottom, sides and along the rim of pie pan (this keeps the meringue from slipping down).
Bake in oven for 1 hour then turn off oven and let pie shell cool.
To make filling: Beat yolks until smooth and lemon-colored. Beat in sugar, then stir in juice concentrate and lemon rind. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until thickened, about 10 minutes. Cool and reserve.
Cover bottom of cooled meringue shell with whipped cream. Add layer of guava filling, then top with more whipped cream.
Chill for at least 8 hours.
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