Sweet & Tangy Meyer Lemons

Meyer Lemons are a cross between a lemon and mandarin orange.  They are sweeter than typical lemons and the rind is very flavorful. They originated in China but came to the US be grown in California in the 1900's.  In the 40's they developed a bad virus only to go away and come back again in the 70's.  This is one complicated lemon!  The winter season is the best time to purchase these deep yellow lemons but they are available year round.

I highly recommend purchasing a Microplane zesting tool.  Citrus zest is highly concentrated and also it is a great alternative when you don’t want to add liquid (juice) to a recipe.

Pan Fried Shrimp Cakes with Creamy Meyer Lemon Sauce

Serves 4

For the Shrimp Cake:

2 Scallions         

½ of a Small Red Pepper

¾ Pounds of Raw Peeled and Deveined Shrimp

2/3 C Panko Bread Crumbs plus approx. ½ C for Coating

½ Cup Mayonnaise

Pinch of Salt

Pinch of Cayenne Pepper

1T Butter

For the Sauce:

4 Oz Cream Cheese

1T Chopped Cilantro

Juice from 2 Meyer Lemons, Zest from 1

For the Micro Green Salad (Optional):

1.5 Oz Mixed Micro Greens

Juice from ½ of 1 Meyer Lemon

1t Olive Oil

Pinch of Salt & Pepper

Finely chop scallions, red pepper, and the shrimp or stick them into a food processor.  Put it into a bowl and add the remaining ingredients except the butter.  Form into 4 patties (or more if you want to make mini cakes) and lightly coat in bread crumbs.

Preheat a sauté pan and add butter.  Once melted, add the cakes and pan fry them.  Once the first side of the cake is brown, flip it over and brown the other side.

In a separate sauté pan over low heat, melt the cream cheese.  Once it starts to thin out a little, whisk in the remaining ingredients.  Spoon out onto plates.

Mix the micro greens in a bowl with all of the ingredients.

Once the cakes are cooked, arrange them on the plates and garnish with a tall micro green salad. If you make the cakes too thick and are afraid that they are browning too fast and not cooked all the way, finish them in the oven.

*Do you know what deveined shrimp are and why it’s important? Along the back side of the shrimp is a long light orange or black vein that goes from the top down to the tail.  Basically it’s a really long piece of crap that I like to refer to as the “poopy vein”.  Eating shrimp poop won’t kill you but it’s not very lady-like.  Once peeled, run your knife lightly down the center of the vein and pull it out.  Some people like to then rinse the shrimp off under cold water.  If you’re not into touching shrimp crap, ask your seafood shop to do it for you or buy it already deveined.

Micro Greens

Micro Greens are like the caviar of vegetables, literally.  Have you ever started seeds to plant in the spring?  The seed gets planted into the soil and a small bud starts to grow up towards the sun.  If you would cut the buds down, you would have micro greens.  The varieties can be greens like cabbage or kale, or herbs like cilantro or basil. So what’s so great about micro greens?  They taste like salad greens, but they are light in flavor and have a nice crunchy texture.  And the obvious reason to use them is because it will definitely up the score & make you look like a culinary genius. 

Avocado Grapefruit Salad with Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette

Serves 2

For the Vinaigrette:

Juice & Zest from 2 Meyer Lemons

1/2 C Olive Oil

1T Chopped Chives

2t Agave Nectar (or Honey)

Salt & Pepper

For the Salad:

1 Red Grapefruit

1 Ripe Avocado

6 Oz Any Mixed Lettuce Greens

¼ C Sliced Almonds

For the vinaigrette, put the lemon juice, chives, agave nectar and a pinch of salt and pepper into a bowl.  Slowly pour in the oil and whisk quickly.  Toss the dressing with the lettuces.

Cut the peel off of the grapefruit and slice it into segments.  Be careful to look for seeds.  Peel and cut the avocado into slices.  Lightly toss the grapefruit, avocado, and almonds with the greens and arrange it on a plate.

*if you want to use this vinaigrette for other things or in larger batches, I recommend using the blender.  When you whisk the oil into a dressing, you run the risk of it separating.  What you want to do is create an emulsion which keeps the dressing well blended.  For an emulsion you need to have the acid part of the dressing whisking or blending at very fast pace while you slowly pour in the oil.

 

Greek Yogurt “Cheese” Spreads

Greek yogurt is strained so it’s almost like the consistency of cream cheese.  The “cheese” spread recipes below are greet for crackers, breads, veggies, fruits, and sandwich spreads. Make up your own variations using dried fruits, herbs, citrus zests, etc.

Meyer Lemon Fig “Cheese” Spread

1 Meyer Lemon, Zested

6 Oz Plain Greek Yogurt

Dash of Nutmeg

2t Honey

Mix all of the ingredients together. You’re done

Pesto “Cheese” Spread

1 Sprig Basil, Chopped

1 Clove of Garlic, Minced

1T Walnuts, Minced (optional)

Pinch of Salt & Pepper

Mix all of the ingredients together.