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Recipes: Meyer lemons in many forms
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I substitute a tablespoon or so of olive oil for the butter and add 1/2 cup of currants or dried cranberries along with the onions, pine nuts (or slivered almonds), lemon and parsley.
-- Patricia Lowry
- 2 cups couscous
- 2 cups water
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup finely chopped onions
- Salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 cup pine nuts, toasted
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped Preserved Lemons, recipe below
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley leaves
Pour couscous into shallow pan or bowl. Bring water to a simmer and pour over the couscous. Cover and let sit until all of the liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes. In a small saute pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onions. Season with salt and pepper. Saute for 1 minute. Stir the onions, pine nuts, preserved lemons and parsley into the couscous and serve.
-- Adapted from Emeril Lagasse, foodnetwork.com
PG tested
This recipe, from the Meyer lemon marketers, is quite easy and results in lemony lusciousness that is more pudding than cake.
-- Bob Batz Jr.
- 3 Meyer lemons
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3 large eggs, separated
- 1 cup whole milk, at room temperature
- 4 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
Preheat oven to 300 degrees with rack in center of oven. Butter 8-by-8-inch baking pan or 11/2-quart shallow casserole. Finely grate 2 teaspoons zest and then squeeze 1/3 cup juice from lemons; set aside.
In large bowl, combine sugar, flour and salt. In small bowl, whisk together yolks, milk, butter, lemon zest and juice; add to flour mixture; whisk to combine.
In large bowl, with electric mixer, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Stir about one-third of egg whites into batter to lighten; gently fold in remaining whites (batter will be thin). Pour into prepared baking dish; bake until puffed and golden, about 35 to 40 minutes; cool. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Makes 6 servings.
-- Lewis & Neale Inc. for the Meyer Lemon Information Bureau
PG tested
"This simple relish is good with most fish and shellfish," Alice Waters writes. "Unfortunately, it cannot be made with ordinary lemons. It is best made fresh and served within a few hours."
- 1 large shallot, diced fine
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar or lemon juice
- Salt
- 1 large Meyer lemon
- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
- 1 tablespoon chopped chervil or chives
- Pepper
Put the diced shallot in a small bowl. Add the vinegar and a pinch of salt. Macerate for 10 or 15 minutes. Cut the lemon into 8 wedges. Remove the seeds and central core from each piece, then cut each wedge in half lengthwise. Slice the wedges crosswise into thin slivers. You will have about  1/2 cup. Combine the slivered lemon and shallot and add a little more salt. Stir in the olive oil, parsley, chervil, and some freshly milled pepper. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
Makes about 1 cup.
-- "Chez Panisse Cafe Cookbook" by Alice Waters (Morrow, 1999
PG tested
This marmalade seems to glow with its own inner light. It's the same recipe used by Karen Morss of Lemon Ladies Orchard. For a more complex flavor, I add about 4 tablespoons of minced fresh ginger to the lemons before soaking.
Marmalade keeps, unopened and stored in a cool, dark place, up to 1 year.
-- Patricia Lowry
- 6 Meyer lemons (1 1/2 pounds)
- 4 cups water
- 4 cups sugar
- Cheesecloth
- Kitchen string
- 6 1/2-pint Mason-type jars, sterilized
- Canning tongs
Halve lemons crosswise and remove seeds. Tie seeds in a cheesecloth bag. Quarter each lemon half and thinly slice. Combine with bag of seeds and water in a 5-quart nonreactive heavy pot and let mixture stand, covered, at room temperature for 24 hours.
Bring lemon mixture to a boil over moderate heat. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until reduced to 4 cups, about 45 minutes. Stir in sugar and boil over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, skimming off any foam and removing any stray seeds, until a teaspoon of mixture dropped on a cold plate gels, about 15 to 25 minutes.
Ladle hot marmalade into jars, filling to within 1/4 inch of top. Wipe rims with dampened cloth and seal jars with lids.
Put jars in a water-bath canner or on a rack set in a deep pot. Add enough hot water to cover jars by 1 inch and bring to a boil. Boil jars, covered, 5 minutes and transfer with tongs to a rack. Cool jars completely.
Makes 6 1/2-pint jars.
Variation: Add 3 to 5 tablespoons minced fresh ginger to lemons before soaking.
-- epicurious.com and Gourmet magazine
PG tested
Preserving a Meyer lemon captures its glorious perfume. We've adapted cookbook author Paula Wolfert's quick method, our favorite, and made it even faster by blanching the lemons first. The rind of a preserved lemon is a common ingredient in Moroccan dishes; we also love it in all kinds of soups, stews, and salads and as a low-fat alternative to olives. Save the pulp for Bloody Marys or anything else enlivened by a little lemon juice and salt.
Preserved lemons keep, chilled, up to 1 year.
-- epicurious.com
- 2 1/2 to 3 pounds Meyer lemons (10 to 12)
- 2/3 cup coarse salt
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- Special equipment
- 6-cup jar with tight-fitting lid
Blanch 6 lemons in boiling water 5 minutes. When cool enough to handle, cut lemons into 8 wedges each and discard seeds. Toss with salt in a bowl and pack into jar.
Squeeze enough juice from remaining lemons to measure 1 cup. Add enough juice to cover lemons and cover jar with lid. Let stand at room temperature, shaking gently once a day, for 5 days. Add oil and chill.
To use, scrape pulp from skin and soak the rinds in several changes of water to remove salt. Slice thinly and add to couscous, rice or other grain.
Makes 48 pieces.
-- Adapted from epicurious.com and Gourmet magazine
"In the winter it's so nice to open up a box of lemons. When [customers] get that box in the middle of a snowstorm, [the lemons] are the color of sunshine."
-- Karen Morss, Meyer lemon grower
Casbah pastry chef Julieanna Martin recently added this Meyer lemon tiramisu to the restaurant's menu. It's as beautiful as it is delicious.
For the ladyfinger cakes
- 1 cup flour
- 1/8 teaspoon baking powder
- 4 eggs, separated
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup sugar, divided
- Zest of 1 meyer lemon
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Sift together flour and baking powder. In a mixing bowl (preferably using a stand mixer), whip together yolks, salt and half of the sugar until thick and pale. Set aside.
Whip the whites to soft peaks, then add remaining sugar in a steady stream. Whip to stiff peaks. Gently fold together the whites, yolks and zest, then carefully fold in the flour.
Scoop batter into a pastry bag and pipe into 2 1/2-inch rounds 1 inch apart on parchment-lined baking pans. Bake for 8-12 minutes, until lightly golden and spongy to the touch. Move the paper onto cooling racks immediately. When cool, ladyfingers may be kept in single layers in an airtight container for several days, or frozen for up to a month.
For the Meyer lemon syrup
- 1/2 cup Meyer lemon juice
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons water
- Fine zest of 1 Meyer lemon
Combine all ingredients in a jar, or container with a tightly fitting lid. Shake until all sugar is dissolved. Keep refrigerated until needed.
For the Meyer lemon mousse
For Meyer lemon curd
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 3/4 cup sugar, divided
- 6 egg yolks
- 1/2 cup Meyer lemon juice
- 4 tablespoons butter, diced
- Zest of 4 Meyer lemons, very fine
Combine cornstarch and half of sugar in a bowl. Add yolks and mix thoroughly.
In a small non-reactive pan, bring juice and half of sugar to a simmer, then temper into the yolk mixture. Over medium heat, bring the curd to a boil for about 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat, stir in butter and zest and chill until firm. WHEN do you add the zest?
For cream
- 1 cup heavy cream
- Whip cream to stiff peaks. Refrigerate.
- For meringue:
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons water
- 3 egg whites, room temperature
In a small pan, combine sugar and water. Bring to 242 degrees -- firm ball on a candy thermometer. While heating, whip the whites to soft peaks. Once at temperature, pour the hot syrup into the whipping whites in a steady stream. Continue to whip the meringue at high speed until it has cooled to room temperature.
Fold together the curd and cream, then fold in the meringue. Scoop into a pastry bag and chill for several hours.
To assemble
For each serving, dip 3 ladyfingers in the syrup. Place one on the plate, and top with mousse, another ladyfinger cake, more mousse, and a final ladyfinger cake. If desired, sprinkle with powdered sugar and top with white chocolate curls.
Makes 8 to 10 servings.
Optional
- Vanilla Bean Olive Oil
- 1 Madagascar Bourbon vanilla bean
- 16 ounces good quality fruity extra virgin olive oil, such as Zoe
Split the bean and scrape the seeds into the oil. Add the bean to the oil -- tie it into a knot, or cut it into several pieces, so it can be completely submerged. Store in a cool, dark place until needed.
When using, stir gently to evenly spread seeds. Drizzle lightly over and around tiramisu.
(Vanilla oil also makes a lovely vinaigrette with Meyer lemon juice and a pinch of salt and sugar. It's great with seared scallops, arugula and pomegranate seeds. Try it sometime. )
-- Casbah pastry chef Julieanna Martin
First Published February 12, 2009 12:00 am
