Meyer Lemon – the Grand Cru of Lemons

There are lemons and there are meyer lemons.  They are in season in January and February.  To me, meyer lemons are a class by themselves – hauntingly aromatic, sour and yet slightly sweet.  I simply slice them thinly right into salads, with skin and all.  I would like to add meyer lemon rinds into our local tuna tartar dish with say sauce, green onion and a dash of sesame seed oil.  I like the tuna tartar with toasty baguette slices or make it into a cone with nori and rice.  A crisp, minerally Champagne or Vouvray Sparkling or Montagnieu Sparkling (from Bugey near Savoie) would accompany the dish well.

Sometimes, I like to simply finely chop meyer lemon with parsley and shallots.  Add some salt and good quality olive oil.  A few raisons can be added to balance the salt and sour.  Spoon the mixture over grilled or pan fried fish or roasted chicken.

To extend the pleasures of short-lived season of meyer lemons, I like to preserve them.  Simply cut them into halves or quarters, sprinkle about 1 table spoon of kosher salt per lemon, pack them into sterilized jars, and squeeze a few more meyer lemons to top it off. I like to keep the preserved lemons in the refrigerator rather than out in the room temperature.  I think the cool preservation keeps them aromatic and crunchy.  The preserved lemons should be ready to enjoy in about 1 month.

The preserved meyer lemons are, of course, classic in Moroccan cooking.  One of the best books is by Kitty Morse – ‘Cooking at the Kasbah’.  Moroccan dishes are very wine friendly, least to my palette. 

Meyer lemons are available at specialty shops, including this one.