Lemons are definitely good for much more than lemonade. They heighten other flavors and add a brightness to many dishes. They are full of vitamins, fiber, potassium, and lemony goodness.
Look for small, heavy fruit without bruises, cuts, or blemishes. If you plan to use them fairly soon, leave them on the counter, or for longer storage, loosely wrap them and keep them in the crisper drawer of the refrigerator. If you store them in the frig, remember to take them out and let them warm up before using them. Roll the lemon gently to loosen the juice sacks and then cut the lemon in half crosswise and remove the juice and pulp on a reamer or cut them lengthwise into quarters and squeeze out all the juice and pulp by hand.
I’m going to give you three favorite uses for lemons and another little secret is that it is also avocado harvesting time... can you beat the flavor of lemon and avocado too?
A delicious salad dressing is made with lemon and garlic. I grow lots of garlic and I love using it all winter. This quick little recipe for salad dressing will brighten up any winter salad. When I say winter salad, I mean anything goes on a salad - except tomatoes. To a chopped romaine, I add anything like cooked beans, grains, dried fruit like cranberries, or chopped apples, pears, or beets, carrots, or cooked potatoes, but never tasteless winter tomatoes.
Lemony Garlic Dressing
2-3 medium cloves of garlic - minced
3 lemons to make ½ cup of juice
1 tablespoon of fresh parsley - minced
1-2 teaspoons salt - to taste
1 tablespoon chia seed (optional, but makes a creamy dressing that doesn't separate)
1 cup olive oil
½ cup water
Put all this is a blender and let it whirl until fully blended. It will come out creamy and delicious.
Next, let’s make a simple and oh so delicious soup to go with that salad:
I had this soup years ago and never actually knew the name of it until recently when I was searching for just what it was. Avgolemono is a classic Greek soup made with egg and lemon. At first the pronunciation of the name might look a little overwhelming but it is Avgo (say - ah go (egg)) and lemono (say - lema no (lemon)) and there you have it.
There are some similarities to a Senegalese Lemon Soup, but the one I remember was Greek.
8 cups chicken stock
1 cup orzo pasta - this is Greek, or you can use rice
4 large eggs, separated
Juice of 3-4 lemons
Freshly ground black pepper
Greek yogurt and lemon zest (optional)
Bring stock to a boil and add orzo or rice, simmering until tender, about 20 minutes. Season the stock to taste with salt, if necessary.
Whisk the egg whites in a separate bowl until peaks form. Add the yolks and lemon juice, whisking continuously until it is all combined.
Temper the mixture by slowly adding about 2 cups of the hot stock into the egg-lemon mixture, while beating vigorously to prevent the eggs from solidifying.
With the heat turned off, add the beaten mixture back into the soup pot, whisking thoroughly to blend it all together.
Serve immediately with a nice romaine salad and a warm crusty bread. I like to serve with a dollop of Greek yogurt in the middle with a little lemon zest and cracked black pepper on top.
I’m not through with lemons yet!
Mediterranean Roasted Chicken
1 large, local roasting/frying chicken or about 4 pounds of cut up chicken
2 lemons - washed and chopped (skin and all) into about 8 pieces each
6-8 large cloves of garlic - peeled, smashed, and cut into ½" pieces
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 fresh rosemary sprigs or 1 teaspoon dried rosemary or Italian blend
2-3 teaspoons of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 cups of new or red potatoes, skins on, washed and pared into 2" chunks
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Cut up the chicken into pieces if using a whole chicken. Rinse and pat dry.
Place a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in the bottom of the roasting pan and arrange the chicken skin side down. Add the lemon sections, squeezing each one slightly to release the juice and pressing them down in among the chicken pieces. Scatter the garlic cloves and rosemary or spices over the chicken and dribble the rest of the olive oil over the chicken and sprinkle it liberally with salt and pepper.
Transfer to the preheated oven and bake for about 30 minutes.
Raise the oven temperature to 400°F. Turn each piece of chicken over and add the potatoes to the pan, stirring to coat them well with olive oil. Return the dish to the oven and roast for another 40-50 minutes, or until the chicken and the potatoes are crisp and browned.
By now the smells of this roasting will have you a bit delirious, so serve it up with that salad and a glass of good red wine.
Enjoy!
No comments:
Post a Comment