Lemons Add Refreshing Zing To Light Summer Dishes

Citrus fruits - limes, lemons, pomelos, grapefruits, tangerines and oranges - are favorites of mine any time of the year, but at the moment I’m in a lemon frenzy.

Lemons make hot summer days bearable. They cleanse and they cool. Would it really feel like summer, for example, without a quaff of lemonade?

Lemons add freshness to summer dishes, cooked or not, because their tart flavor cuts through all others. They make summer meals seem light as a feather. Their crisp aroma can send a shiver, like a cool breeze that comes up quickly, then disappears.

I choose thin-skinned lemons, the ones that come from Florida and other humid climes. The oil in the skin is what gives the predominant aroma, lemony without being too tart. The pithy white layer between the skin and the flesh contains the bitterness, so when you’re zesting lemons, avoid any white.

Aside from cooking purposes, the oily zests can be added to a bottle of water to make lemon water, refreshing both to drink and to splash on your face. Tie the zest in a cheesecloth and leave it in a bottle of water overnight. Grated zest is also good for flavoring vodka and gin, by the way, and will enhance your tall summer drinks.

Now, I’ve warned against grating the white bits of the lemon into your zest because of its bitterness. But remember, salt acts to temper bitter and sour sensations. If you salt thin slices of unpeeled seedless lemons, you can eat the entire fruit - peel, pith and flesh.

North African cooks take this idea a step further by brining whole lemons until they ferment into a sour lemon pickle. The rinds are them peeled off and used in stews called tagines, especially with chicken.

Lemon juice is a versatile liquid. It can be sweetened and used in desserts. It can be used as is in salad dressings. Uncooked, as a marinade, it is a powerful liquid that can “cook” seafood, as in seviche.

Lemon juice can be cooked and concentrated and used in sauces. When cooked, it loses the aroma it began with, so I always add some zest to the juice if I’m going to cook it.

Lemons, like all citrus fruits, should be completely ripe when picked. They won’t get sweeter after harvesting because there is no carbohydrate that converts to sugar after they’re off the tree.

Lemon and Raisin Salad

Serve this “salad” as an accompaniment to grilled chicken or fish.

3 seedless lemons (or regular lemons, sliced, with seeds carefully removed)

1/4 cup golden raisins

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper

1 teaspoon kosher salt

Wash lemons. Wipe dry and slice into paper-thin rounds. Place lemon slices in nonreactive bowl along with raisins, cilantro, cumin, pepper and salt. Toss well. Cover and leave at room temperature 6 hours before serving.

Yield: 4 servings.

Creamy Lemon-Olive Oil Dressing

1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 egg (see note)

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper

2/3 cup virgin olive oil

Place lemon juice, egg, salt and pepper in blender. Process on medium speed while slowly adding olive oil in steady stream.

Yield: 1 cup.

Note: Because of the possible threat of salmonella (a bacteria that causes food poisoning) from raw eggs, health officials recommend that the very young, the elderly, pregnant women and people with serious illnesses or weakened immune systems not eat raw or lightly cooked eggs. Keep this in mind and consume raw or lightly cooked eggs at your own risk.

Seviche

1 1/2 pounds bay scallops

1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 teaspoons chopped cilantro

Salt

Few drops Tabasco sauce

1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper

1/4 cup finely chopped onion

1/4 cup chopped tomatoes

1/4 cup finely chopped green pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

Combine scallops, lemon juice, cilantro, salt to taste, Tabasco and pepper in nonreactive bowl. Cover and refrigerate 6 hours.

When scallops have turned opaque, mix in onion, tomatoes, green pepper and oil and serve.

Yield: 4 servings.

Lemon Curd

Spoon this curd over fresh berries. To make a lemon pie, fill a prebaked 9-inch pie shell with the curd and bake at 375 degrees 15 minutes.

5 whole eggs

5 egg yolks

2 cups sugar

1 cup fresh lemon juice

Grated zest of 2 lemons

1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Combine eggs, egg yolks and sugar in mixing bowl and beat until smooth. Add lemon juice and zest and mix. Place bowl over pan of boiling water or in top of double boiler over simmering water and cook, stirring vigorously with wooden spoon, until mixture thickens - about 5 minutes. Mixture will not curdle so don’t worry about overcooking it a little.

Remove bowl from boiling water. Stir in butter until it melts. Use curd as desired. (Curd can be covered and refrigerated up to 3 months.)

Yield: 1 quart.

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