When life gives you lemons, celebrate

Lemons get bad rap.

When we buy a car that doesn’t drive, we call it lemon. When life gives you lemons, we say you have to make lemonade as if lemons are something you have to put up with.

This is unfair.

Lemons are bright and sunny, lively and invigorating. They add to the food a delicious burst of life, spraying it with the essence of spring.

I say when life gives you lemons, you need to celebrate. Hooray, lemons!

It’s time to raise a modest lemon in the pantheon of culinary flavors. And so I decided to cook four dishes that take full advantage of this most versatile of citrus.

I cooked sweet and savory dishes, main courses and desserts. How many other ingredients can equally be found in a pie or a piece of grilled meat?

I started with shrimp. Lemon is a natural addition to all crustaceans; I don’t think I’ve ever cooked lobster, crab or shrimp without using at least a healthy squeeze or two of lemon.

To highlight and focus on the taste of lemon, I decided to make shrimp the easiest way I know: boiled.

Usually when I boil shrimp, I use beer or a mixture of beer and water and a rich amount of Old Bay condiments. But this time I decided to mix lemon juice with water.

In my first attempt I also used Old Bay. It tasted great, but tasted like Old Bay with a hint of lemon.

So I only tried water and lemon juice. It was still good, but not enough lemon. So I tried water and more lemon juice. It was better, but still not enough lemon.

So I tried a ratio of almost equal amounts of lemon juice and water, and the result was everything I could have hoped for – bright and lemon without overcoming shrimp.

Serve shrimp hot or cold. I decided to give up the traditional cocktail sauce because I wanted to taste the lemon. But if you think shrimp are obscenely naked without a cocktail sauce, then be sure to serve.

Then I decided to take advantage of the classic combination of flavors that is often missed: lamb with lemon. Lemon flavor plays the opposite of what many people (not me) think of as a lamb joke.

I used delicate and fragrant lamb chops and created a marinade of things that go especially well with lamb – olive oil, garlic, shallots, Dijon mustard, thyme (or rosemary) and lemon juice, as well as salt and pepper. Pour the marinade over the meat for one hour before cooking.

Usually I roast lamb, but not everyone has a grill. So I decided to cook my own on the stove. This way you won’t get any fire flavor, which is especially desirable for lamb, but you’ll get more caramelization on the surface of the meat as a compromise.

It was faster and easier than using the grill, and the results were great. Lemon was a high note that sang clearly and steadily over the earthy flesh of the lamb.

When I was thinking about how to cook a lemon chicken, I had a brilliant idea: why not use the same marinade I used for the lamb? After all, olive oil, garlic, shallots, Dijon mustard, thyme (or rosemary), lemon juice, salt and pepper also go very well with chicken.

I usually grill chicken, but not everyone has a grill. So I decided to cook my own in the oven. This way you will not get any flavor of the fire, which is especially desirable with chicken, but it is easier to cook and less picky.

The chicken tasted great, it was a delicious fried chicken. But, truth be told, lemon was not enough to be a lemon chicken. So I doubled the amount of lemon juice in the marinade and tried again.

The result was subtle but extremely enjoyable. Not too lemony at all.

For dessert, I was thinking of making a lemon meringue pie, but decided it was too common. So I made a lemon shaker cake.

Presumably based on a recipe from Shakers, this pie uses every piece of lemon, peel and all. Well, not seeds. But the whole lemon is used, minus the seeds.

I made a recipe by cookbook author Alison Roman, which uses a simple crust of shortcrust pastry. It’s an incredibly delicious, oily, crunchy base for lemon custard.

Custard is also light, but requires some waiting time. You chop the lemon very finely, removing all the seeds, and leave it in the mixture of lemon juice and sugar for at least one hour and up to a day. You then mix lots of egg yolks and whole eggs, along with a little flour and salt and bake until you can’t stand how good your house smells.

The pie is an absolute treat and it is not too sweet like many lemon desserts.

Maybe that’s why it’s called a cake.

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SHRIMPS IN LEMONS

Yield: 4 servings

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons lemon juice

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons water

1 pound shrimp, with or without shells

For a cocktail of your choice:

3/4 cup chili sauce

1/3 cup ketchup

1 or 2 tablespoons prepared horseradish

1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

Juice of 1 or 2 slices of lemon

1. In a large saucepan, bring lemon juice and water to a boil. Add the shrimp and cook until the shrimp turn pink and curl; the time will vary depending on the size of the shrimp. Serve hot or cold.

2. When making a cocktail sauce, mix in a bowl the chili sauce, ketchup, horseradish, Worcestershire sauce and lemon juice. Serve with shrimp.

Per serving: 183 calories; 1 g of fat; 1 g of saturated fat; 183 mg of cholesterol; 24 g of protein; 21 g of carbohydrates; 14 g of sugar; 2 g of fiber; 1072 mg of sodium; 91 mg of calcium

Daniel Neman’s recipe

LEMON SELECTED

Yield: 3 to 4 servings

2 pounds of lamb chops

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 clove of garlic

1 tablespoon finely chopped shallots

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme or rosemary leaves

1/4 cup olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

2 tablespoons oil (not olive) when cooking on the stove

1. Place the lamb chops in a flat dish. Put lemon juice, garlic, shallots, mustard, thyme or rosemary, olive oil, salt and pepper in a blender and mix until smooth. Pour the marinade over the marinade on both sides and leave at room temperature for 1 hour, turning once or twice.

2. Set up the grill for direct heating or put a large heavy skillet on high heat and add 2 tablespoons of oil. Cook the meat, turning once or twice, until desired readiness (only about 5 minutes for chops 3/4 inch).

Per serving (based on 4): 413 calories; 25 g of fat; 5 g of saturated fat; 150 mg of cholesterol; 48 g of protein; 2 g of carbohydrates; 5 g of sugar; 2 g of fiber; 217 mg of sodium; 28 mg of calcium

Daniel Neman’s recipe

CHICKEN CHICKEN

Yield: 3 to 4 servings

1 (3 1/2 to 4 lbs) chicken

1/2 cup lemon juice

1 clove of garlic

1 tablespoon finely chopped shallots

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme or rosemary leaves

1/4 cup olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

2 tablespoons oil (not olive) when cooking on the stove

1. Place the chicken in a large bowl. Put lemon juice, garlic, shallots, mustard, thyme or rosemary, olive oil, salt and pepper in a blender and mix until smooth. Pour the marinade over the chicken and leave at room temperature for 1 hour. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

2. Put the chicken on the grill in a saucepan (if you don’t have the grill, put it on the potatoes, carrots, celery or a combination thereof). For a better look, tie the legs and wings. Bake in the oven until done, about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours, depending on the size of the chicken; if it becomes too brown on top, cover with aluminum foil. The chicken will be ready when the legs move freely in the joints.

3. Rinse with aluminum foil and wait at least 5 to 10 minutes before threading.

Per serving (based on 4): 565 calories; 41 g of fat; 9 g of saturated fat; 217 mg of cholesterol; 44 g of protein; 3 g of carbohydrates; 1 g of sugar; 1 g of fiber; 814 mg of sodium; 21 mg of calcium

Daniel Neman’s recipe

TART LEMON SHAKER

Yield: 8 servings

For the crust

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2/3 cup powdered sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

12 tablespoons (11/2 sticks) melt

unsalted butter

For the filling

1 Meyer lemon or 1 regular lemon, very finely chopped, seeds removed (see notes)

1 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup Mayer lemon juice or regular lemon juice

3 large yolks

2 large eggs

1/4 cup universal flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

Notes: use a sharp or serrated knife to cut the lemons; do not use the mandolin.

– The crust can be baked 2 days in advance, the cake can be baked 1 day in advance.

1. Make a crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Mix flour, powdered sugar and salt in a medium bowl. Pour in the melted butter and stir until it mixes well (it will have a Play-Doh texture). Push this into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch mold for a pie or a 9-inch mold for a spring mold. Use a measuring cup to flatten it and make sure it doesn’t matter.

3. Bake the shell until it becomes a pale golden-brown crust on the edges and bakes on the bottom (it will lose its greasy shine), about 20 minutes.

4. Make the filling: discard the lemon slices, granulated sugar and lemon juice in a medium bowl. Leave it for at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours to soften the peel.

5. Beat the yolks, eggs, flour and salt in a medium bowl, making sure there are no lumps (if there are stable pieces of flour, strain the mixture; otherwise they will pop up and not disappear when baked) and add the mixture to a bowl with slices lemons. Stir everything to combine, then transfer to a baking sheet.

6. Bake the pie until the edges harden and the center is slightly shaky, about 25 to 30 minutes. Allow to cool completely before slicing.

Per serving: 327 calories; 21 g of fat; 12 g of saturated fat; 162 mg of cholesterol; 6 g of protein; 58 g of carbohydrates; 36 g of sugar; 1 g of fiber; 533 mg of sodium; 28 mg of calcium

Adapted from the movie “Dining Room” by Alison Roman

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Lemon chops with lamb

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