December 10, 2012
I’m obsessed with in-season citrus right now; limes, lemons, blood oranges, satsumas, the list could go on. I’m lucky to have loaded trees in my backyard–don’t hate me because I’m Californian! Wherever you live though, now is the time to seek out these bright beauties.
Even with my bounty at home, I couldn’t resist buying more at the farmers market because they smelled so damn good! If you can’t find citrus locally, there are some great resources to buy online and have delivered right to your (or a special someone’s) door.
The versatility of citrus is wonderful. I love keeping a few in a bowl on my coffee table for an instant pop of color and healthy snack for easy picking. Or I’ll squirt a little juice on avocado toast, stir some into drinks or use them to make a fresh dressing like the one below.
This vinaigrette uses the whole fruit (yes, peel and all). My friend and chef Julie Robles showed me this technique recently and all I can say is: brilliant!!
Meyer lemons are sweeter with softer, thinner skins than the usual Eureka variety. Mincing the whole lemon and then mixing with kitchen staples makes for a fresh, tasty vinaigrette.
It’s a little heartier than normal dressing, which makes it hold-up beautifully mixed in with a pasta or grain. I also like it tossed with kale. I would consider this a grown-up dressing, it’s a tad bitter, but so delicious.
Chopped Meyer Lemon Salad Dressing
2 Meyer lemons: 1 minced in its entirety, 1 just the juice.
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (optional)
1/8 teaspoon chili flakes
1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt
Cracked pepper
6 tablespoons olive oil
Chop up an entire Meyer lemon, rind and all. In a bowl, add juice of another lemon to the chopped one. Add the fresh thyme leaves, chili flakes, salt, a few turns of cracked pepper to the bowl. Whisk in the olive oil. Taste for seasoning and spoon over your salad.
I tossed this salad of chopped Romaine with a hand full of grated Pecorino. It was delicious!
