Winter is the peak for Meyer lemons and citrus of all kinds, and my trees are full with the taxi-colored yellow fruit. These are not big trees, just small ones bought over the years and placed around the front and back yards in terra cotta pots. This is no-hassle gardening at its best, and the best part is that I have a solid supply of Meyer lemons for months. During the spring, the perfume of lemon blossoms fills my garden, and during the long, hot summer, I get to watch those blossoms turn into tiny green orbs that ripen during the fall into my favorite citrus. Each of my five Meyer lemon trees produces about 60 lemons a year, providing a family of three with more than enough lemons for several months.
Meyer lemons are from China, where they were “discovered” in 1908 by a botanist named Frank Meyer, who worked for the U.S. Department of Agriculture as a plant explorer. His enviable job was to roam around the world looking for food-producing plants that might be grown in North America. The slightly sweet Meyer lemon is actually a hybrid created by crossing a regular lemon with a mandarin orange. My other favorite citrus hybrid is called a Rangpur lime and is simply a cross between a lime and a mandarin orange.
The Meyer lemon has a smooth skin and has far more juice and sweetness than regular lemons. In fact, I will often chop up the whole lemon, skin and all, and make a wonderful relish with chopped olives, shallots, parsley, olive oil and sea salt. This time of year, I make a simple dressing using only lemon juice, olive oil and Maldon sea salt from England.
To make my favorite winter salad: Fill a bowl with some small mixed salad greens including some cresses and bitter greens such as mizuna, dandelion, and arugula. Some Belgian endive and radicchio would be nice, also. Toss the leaves with enough olive oil to coat them lightly – just dive in with both hands and gently toss with your fingers. Add some lemon juice and sea salt and toss again. Taste a few leaves to make sure they are well coated and add more lemon or salt if needed. This is a perfectly simple salad.
Many years ago, I was working in a restaurant in San Francisco with a cook who was from Morocco. I asked her to teach me her favorite cooking technique from her country. That’s when I discovered the wonderfully addictive taste of preserved lemons. It’s not really a cooking technique, but a method of preserving. Preserved lemons have become an integral part of my cooking – especially as a last-minute addition to salads, dressings and relishes. Their unique flavor adds a bright citrus and salty counterpunch to almost any food.
My Moroccan friend had a rather complicated technique that required 30 days to make, but I later discovered Paula Wolfert’s recipe for seven-day preserved lemons in her wonderful book, “World of Food.” Here is my version of that recipe, using Meyer lemons, of course.
Preserved Lemons
• 5 large Meyer lemons, scrubbed and dried
• 1/2 cup Diamond Crystal kosher salt
• 1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
Cut each lemon into eight wedges and toss in a bowl with the salt. Place the lemons and salt in a one-quart, wide-mouth canning jar. Add the juice to the jar, cover and shake. Leave jar out at room temperature and shake well every day for seven days. Store in the refrigerator after seven days. The lemons can be used immediately, but will be even better after another week or so. They will last several months if kept refrigerated. To use a preserved lemon, remove flesh and white pith from the rind with a sharp knife and discard. Rinse the rind well before chopping or slicing.
