When you have a bunch of lemons about to dry up, half-an-hour in the kitchen can bring meaning to their lives by combining their juice with sugar or fat. From about 10 lemons, some on the verge of inedibility, we got a cup-and-a-half of juice (after filtering the pulp away with a cheesecloth). Two-thirds of the juice became two cups of sweet-and-sour syrup, while a third went toward two cups of vinaigrette. Both graduated in the 90th percentile of their class!Lemon syrup
If at least some of your lemons have usable skin, consider peeling the yellow zest and simmering it in water for ~10 minutes. That will boost the flavor of the syrup. Combine water (zesty or not) with sugar and heat, stirring, until sugar dissolves. Now combine this "simple syrup" with about twice as much lemon juice.
- 1 cup lemon juice
- 1/2-2/3 cup sugar
- 1/4-1/3 cup water
- lemon zest (optional)
Now, what is the syrup good for? Surely, it works in tea and on all kinds of deserts. But... It shines in a Margarita. One part of this lemon syrup shaken over ice with one to two parts of tequila, depending on how boozy you like it, makes an excellent version of the cocktail (and without the expense of Cointreau).
Lemon-honey-dijon vinaigrette
Mix lemon juice with a good mustard (stone-ground or not) and, optionally, salt, pepper, and lemon zest. Pour in thrice as much olive oil (a classic vinaigrette ratio) and be sure to mix them well every time you use this dressing. Citric acid is good as is, but can also get along with a well-mannered acetic acid (e.g., from a champagne vinegar). A dash of sesame oil, if you tend to like it a lot, won't ruin this dressing, either.
- 1 1/2 cups olive oil
- 1/2 cup lemon juice
- 2 Tbsp dijon mustard
- dash of champagne vinegar (optional)
- dash of sesame oil (optional)
- lemon zest (optional)
- ground or cracked black pepper (optional)
- salt (optional)