Citrus Divas
By Sidonie Maroon, The Food Co-op Culinary Educator, abluedotkitchen.com
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Citrus fruits are the divas of the taste world trilling notes to awaken our taste buds. They brighten, allure, and make the other flavors dance. Miraculously, amid winter’s gray, we have ten vocalists to enjoy: lemons, limes, oranges, clementine, grapefruit, satsuma, marmalade orange, tangelo, tangerine and pomelos. Each dazzles with their own repertoire.
I like to imagine taste and smell as music. When we eat ingredients in combination, they give us sensations in various keys. As cooks, we want the melody heard, the dish in harmony, with a periodic flavor lift to delight us.
Peels and Zest
Never waste citrus zest or peels! I dry orange rinds on a plate, and when I have a moment, scissor them into strips. I use them in spiced tea, or mince some into quick breads.
Tip: Use a micro plane to zest lemons and oranges.
Dynamic Acids
Add lemon or lime juice to soups or stews just before serving. Use them in salad dressings, salsa, chutney and other fresh sauces which are best fresh.
Roasting is the exception. Lemons will caramelize when roasted and are amazing. Try roasting carrots, fresh thyme and sliced lemons together with olive oil.
Lemons
Use both the bright yellow tart acidic Eureka lemons and Meyers lemons.
Meyers lemons aren’t true lemons, but a cross between lemons and mandarins. They have a thinner skin, are rounder, with a yellow-orange color. Although not sweet, they are less acidic, and their zest and juice has floral undertones that add wonderful nuances to lemon dishes.
Limes
Lime zest is a wonder. Lime combined with grapefruit make the perfect sour and bitter juice for bright fresh sauces. Limes sliced paper thin are great additions to salads.
How to Make Preserved Lemon Relish
I used to make preserved lemons, then I had the lazy inspiration to chop them in a food processor. It worked great, so now I make preserved lemon relish. I use it in salad dressings, sauces, dips, spreads, marinades, straight out of the jar, or even to make sweet lemon and walnut pies!
I use the sweet, thin skinned Meyers lemons. Buy two dozen and cut off their tops and tails, quarter them, slice out their core membranes, take out any seeds and chop each quarter in half. For every 1 cup of lemon chunks, add 1 teaspoon of sea salt. The salted lemon chunks go into the food processor, pulsed to relish consistency. Pack the relish into pint mason jars, leaving an inch of headroom. Cover them and leave them out to ferment at room temperature for 3 to 4 days. The lemon relish is ready to use when it tastes more sour than salty. It’s like making lacto-fermented kraut or pickles. Store the relish in the fridge after fermenting. It will keep for up to a year, and get better as it develops. Although, it may mold if it doesn’t have enough acidic juices covering the top of the relish.
Orange and Kalamata Olive
Chopped Salad
Ingredients
1 cup pitted kalamata olives
½ of a red onion, chopped and blanched for 1 minute if too sharp
2 navel oranges, zested, peeled and sliced into sections
Zest of both oranges
Zest and juice of one lemon
½ cup Italian parsley, minced
1 cup celery, diced
1 cup walnuts, toasted
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
½ teaspoon sea salt
Directions
1. Assemble and prepare the ingredients.
2. Add olives, blanched red onion, orange sections, zests, parsley, celery, toasted walnuts, lemon juice, salt and red pepper flakes to a food processor bowl. Pulse several times until everything is fresh salsa consistency.
3. The salad will continue to develop its flavors. Keeps refrigerated for a week.
Citrus Salad Dressing
2 tablespoons Myers lemon juice
4 tablespoons walnut oil
1 teaspoon lemon zest
½ teaspoon fresh thyme minced
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1 salted anchovy chopped
1 clove garlic chopped
¼ teaspoon sea salt
Blend in a mini food processor
Spiced Roasted Carrots
with Citrus and Lemongrass
Serves 6
1 hour, including roasting time
These roasted carrots make an exciting vegetable side. They’re massaged with fragrant spices, roasted and finished with a glaze of honey, lime and salt.
Ingredients
6 medium carrots, peeled and cut into thick matchsticks
1-inch piece of peeled ginger, chopped
1 lemongrass stalk, use white part and chop
4 cloves of garlic, minced
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 tablespoon tamari
1 teaspoon Celtic sea salt
spice mix (recipe follows)
1 lemon, zested, the rind cut away and chopped with core removed
1 navel orange, zested, the rind cut away and chopped with core removed
2 tablespoons runny honey
Fresh lime juice to finish
Finishing salt to taste
Cilantro leaves to garnish
Spice mix
Grind the spices in a spice grinder
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon fennel seed
2 teaspoons coriander seed
2 whole cloves
¼ teaspoon black peppercorns
Directions
Preheat the oven to 425 F. Prepare a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
Grind the spices and set aside. In a small food processor, grind ginger, garlic, lemongrass, sesame oils, tamari and salt into a paste. Stir the dry spices into the paste.
Prep the carrots into thick matchsticks. Zest the citrus, and then cut away the rinds, cut out the core and chop. Put the carrots and citrus on the baking sheet and lovingly massage the paste in.
Roast for 20 minutes. Stir, making sure you bring the carrots at the edges into the center, so that everything roasts evenly. Roast for another 15 minutes, tasting the carrots until they’re roasted to your liking. Drizzle on the honey, toss and return to the oven, allowing it to glaze the carrots for 3 minutes. Taste and sprinkle with finishing salt and lime juice to taste. Serve with cilantro leaves as a garnish.
Green olive, fennel and
orange salsa with fried walnuts
1 ½ cups
Quick and so delicious. If fennel isn’t available, substitute parsley, adding 1 teaspoon of fennel seeds.
Salsa Ingredients
1 cup green pitted garlic stuffed olives, roughly chopped (Spanish gordels would be perfect)
2 small new onion bulbs, cut in half and thinly sliced, or use 1 bunch of green onion whites
2 oranges
1 cup fennel, minced
Juice of one fresh lime
⅛ teaspoon of cayenne pepper or Aleppo pepper
Fried Walnut Ingredients
1 cup walnuts
3 tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
Sprinkle of Maldon flaked sea salt
Directions
For oranges,
Cut off the tops and bottoms. Set the oranges on their bottoms, and with a knife, following the curve of the orange, cut off the peel and pith. Remove the sections from the membranes with your fingers.
Salsa
Add all the salsa ingredients to a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Put the salsa in a serving bowl. You can make the salsa ahead and add the warm fried walnuts right before eating.
Fried Walnuts
Heat a heavy-bottomed skillet on medium heat. When hot, add the olive oil. Add walnuts and stir, coating with oil, sprinkle on the smoked paprika and salt. Fry until fragrant about 1 ½ minutes. While still warm, chop and add to the salsa. Serve immediately.
Ginger Carrot Citrus Salad
A delightful and invigorating salad.
Serves 3.
1 orange
3 medium carrots
1 cup finely chopped parsley
1 ½ meyer lemon
Dressing:
2 tablespoons Meyer lemon juice
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 clove garlic
¾ inch fresh ginger
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
Grate carrots. Cut top and bottom off oranges and then cut away the peel and pith. Chop into small chunks. Prepare Meyer lemon in the same way, except even small pieces. Finely chop the parsley. Admire the rainbow on your cutting board! Put everything in your favorite salad bowl.
To make the dressing, blend all the ingredients in a food processor. Taste and adjust as needed. Pairs well with winter sunlight streaming through windows.
Pickled Red Onions
Cebollas Encurtidas para Panuchos
Makes 3 cups
Ingredients
4 cups thinly sliced red onion rings, halved
1 cup bitter orange juice or substitute
½ cup water
1 teaspoon dried oregano
10 black peppercorns
3 allspice berries
1 teaspoons coriander seeds
2 bay leaves
Sea salt to taste
Combine for Bitter Orange Substitute
1 teaspoon grated grapefruit zest
½ cup orange juice concentrate
Juice of two limes plus zest
1 cup fresh grapefruit juice
Directions
Blanch the onions in boiling water for 1 minute and then shock in ice water. In a serving bowl, add the drained onions, spices, salt and water to the bitter orange juice. If possible, set aside to pickle for two hours. Will keep for several weeks refrigerated.