Growing up, we didn’t eat a lot of fresh lemons in our day-to-day lives. I don’t mean that we never had lemons. We had loads of lemon-flavored things like candy, cakes, cookies and lemonade, but whole fresh lemons were something we’d have at restaurants or special events. Our mom wouldn’t buy them because she had a crowd to feed, and spending $3.00 for a garnish just wasn’t in the budget. This is slightly funny when you realize Florida (my home state) produces about 70% of the citrus sold in the United States!
So it should come as no surprise that I didn’t start using fresh lemons until later in my adult life, but boy, oh boy, have I made up for lost time! From fresh sliced lemon over fish, to dried in a sautée with pork and olives, to giving a tangy pop to a sauce, to adding flavor to a sweet and tart dessert, it has easily become one of the most used ingredients in my kitchen.
This recipe is a great way to extend the life of your lemons (and other citrus!) and give you a consistent product through the off-season. Throw them into a tomato sauce with some olives, add to your poaching liquid for fish or chicken, or toss a slice into a cup of tea! You can also use a clean coffee grinder or a mortar and pestle to grind the lemon slices for adding to any kind of marinade that needs a bright dash of summer! You can even grind them into a fine power and make your own lemon pepper!
