Lemongrass Bars with Coconut Shortbread Crust

Lemons sweet and sour, we can't get enough!  Unfortunate, our neighbor’s trees ripen in November, so we move on to our lemon grass.

Our lemon grass...growing like a weed and I am happy.  

Easy lemon grass growing guide:

   

o       buy some lemon grass from the market

o       stick it in about 2 inches of water

o       watch and wait for roots to form

o       plant in your garden

o       share with your friends because it grows fast

The plant pictured above was just one shoot and now look at it now

and I removed four shoots already.

Lemongrass Bars with Coconut Shortbread Crust

from Bon Appétit | March 2011

Ivy Manning

adapted 

Crust:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup sweetened shredded coconut (about 3 ounces)

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

Filling:

1 1/4 cups sugar

3 lemongrass stalks, bottom 4 inches only, tough outer layer removed, finely chopped (scant 1/2 cup)

5 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

3 large eggs

1/4 cup all purpose flour

Powdered sugar

lemon zest

For crust:

~ preheat oven to 350°F

~ butter 13 x 9 x 2- inch metal baking pan

~ using electric mixer, beat flour, coconut, powdered sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in large bowl until well blended, 30 seconds

~ add butter; beat on low speed until moist clumps form

 ~ press dough onto bottom and 1/2 inch up sides of pan

 ~ bake crust until golden (edges will be darker), about 25 minutes

 

For filling:

~  meanwhile, place sugar and lemongrass in processor; pulse until lemongrass is finely ground, about 1 minute

~  add lemon juice; process until well blended, about 30 seconds

~  add eggs; process to blend, 10 to 15 seconds

~  add flour and pinch of salt; pulse until smooth

~ reduce oven temperature to 325°F

~ pour filling over hot crust; bake until filling is firm, 22 to 23 minutes

~ cool in pan on rack

~ cut lemongrass bars lengthwise into 4 strips, then crosswise into 6 pieces

~ dust bars with powdered sugar and lemon zest

from our garden: lemon grass