my meyer

When we moved into our house a couple of years ago, all the trees and hedges in the backyard were trimmed to a perfect round shape. One small round tree with dark shiny leaves caught my eye. Weeding the flower bed underneath, I saw perfectly ripe lemons hanging down on the inside of the dome shape. It was a secret tree with my favorite fruit: meyer lemons. This was in fact the quintessential California house, complete with the meyer lemon tree.

I have always been fascinated by the tangy acidic flavor of limes and lemons. Some dishes outright call for limes and for that I use the small Mexican limes. They resemble most in flavor the limes I grew up with in Iran called Limoo Amani. One notable difference is that in Iran we consume those limes dry. A big ditch is created around the base of the tree and soon after the lime takes the right shape and color, the ditch is filled with water. The plant is not watered again until all the limes on the tree are dried out, or so legend has it. The resulting flavor is concentrated earthy musky sour with a hint of sweetness. The dried limes, crushed or whole pierced with a knife, are put in hearty lamb stews so the acidity can balance out the richness of the dish and help tenderize the meat.


Compared to the tiny green limes, lemons taste somewhat sweet to me. I can eat a lemon just like an orange although the funny faces I make are notably different. Make it a meyer lemon and the floral sweetness is further enhanced. My first taste of a meyer lemon was in the 90's at Chez Panisse Cafe. Lucky me for having tasted it first at such an institution that believes in letting the fresh natural flavor of ingredients shine. The little gem salad with the light fresh crispy leaves was served with a meyer lemon vinaigrette.


Almost three years after moving to our house, the yard has a more organic look and the trees and hedges look more natural. We still trim the Camellia tree to somewhat of an oval shape but the lemon tree boasts the fruit they're bearing proudly in whatever direction the branches want to go. The fruit is plentiful and my meyer lemons are as ripe as can be. I'll pick a bunch of them to make preserved lemons that I can use in a tagine. And the limoncello is always on hand in the freezer. The rest I've been using regularly in my salads. Adding the meyer lemon zest to a salad after tossing it with a vinaigrette gives it a flavor which reminds me of what I experienced at Chez Panisse over a decade ago.

Little Gem Salad with Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette

ingredients:

Sweet batard bread loaf

2 Tablespoons olive oil for croutons

Little Gem lettuces

One meyer lemon, preferably from your own backyard

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil for dressing

Parmesan cheese (whole piece)

Black pepper

method:

Cut bread into even-sized small crouton pieces, spread on baking sheet, lightly drizzle with olive oil, and bake at 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes until crunchy. Watch it carefully as crouton sizes and oven temperatures can vary.

In a bowl, juice the meyer lemon using a lemon juicer and mix with the dijon. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil while whisking. Whisk until the dressing has emulsified.

Gently toss the little gem lettuces and plate them. Top with croutons.

Using a microplane zester top the salad with meyer lemon zest and parmesan cheese. Lightly grind pepper on top.

Note: Store the leftover croutons in an airtight container and the dressing in a jar for future salads.

suggestions:

The secret to making a good vinaigrette in one word is to "emulsify". Adding Dijon mustard to the lemon then whisking in the oil results in a creamy texture as the oil emulsifies the dressing. In France, a simple green salad (la salade verte) is tossed with the dressing and is always served after dinner. Tossing a salad is called "fatiguer la salade" as in fat-ea-geh, which literally translates to tiring the salad. But such tossing should be done lightly so as not to bruise the leaves. You may never get tired of this simple refreshing salad.