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Friday January 26, 2007

With my friend’s mom, every meal celebrated that perfect fruit: lemon

by rebecca ets-hokin

My friend Marsha Attie dropped by the other morning with a giant bag of Meyer lemons for me.

“Please don’t take this the wrong way,” she said. “But you remind me a little of my mother.”

I was flattered, because Marsha has always spoken so lovingly of her mother.

“Every meal was a celebration — nothing was ordinary, everything was delicious,” she continued. “Not just on Shabbat or holidays, but every day.

“Every time I look at my lemon tree, I think of my mother. Lemons just remind me of her — they’re fragrant, colorful, sour, nutritious, sensuous, nurturing and full of life.

“My mother used lemons in almost all of her cooking. She drank black tea with lemon and Sweet ‘n’ Low. She put lemons in everything. She made a wonderful Syrian lemon chicken, which she learned from my grandmother.”

Meyer lemons are one of the bonuses of California. Despite the recent frost, local trees and bushes are heavy with the bright yellow globes.

Adding fresh lemon slices to any dish — from salads to fish, beverages and desserts will make any ordinary dish into a celebration.

Syrian Chicken with Orzo | Serves 6-8

2 Tbs. olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 chicken, cut into quarters
4 1/2 cups water
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2-inch cinnamon stick
2 tsp. green cardamom pods
2 Tbs. chopped fresh ginger
1 Tbs. coarse sea salt
1 tsp. black pepper
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 cups orzo
2 Tbs. olive oil
In a large pot, heat the 2 Tbs. of olive oil over high heat. Sauté the onion until it is soft. Add chicken, and add the water. Add the garlic, cinnamon, cardamom, salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer and cook, covered, over gentle heat, until the chicken meat is very tender, about 1 hour. Remove chicken from the sauce and allow to cool. Once it is cool enough to handle, remove the skin and the bones.
Bring the sauce to a boil, add the lemon juice and orzo. Cook 8-10 minutes, until the orzo is done. You may need to add more water.
When ready to serve, return the chicken meat to the pot, and heat through. Serve in soup bowls.

Chickpea Salad | Serves 6-8

4 cups cooked chickpeas
1 clove garlic, through the press
1 small shallot, finely chopped
4 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp. fine sea salt
1 tsp. black pepper
2 Tbs. lemon juice
1 Tbs. finely chopped parsley
Toss all the ingredients together, and serve warm or at room temperature. (Note: If using canned garbanzo beans, you may want to simmer them until they are more tender.)

Old-Fashioned Lemon Custard | Serves 8

1 cup whole milk
1 cup cream
3 eggs
4 egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup lemon juice
Heat the milk and the cream together over low heat. Whisk together the eggs, egg yolks and sugar until thick and pale yellow. Add the warmed milk and lemon juice to the egg and sugar mixture.
Place 8 ramekins in a baking pan. Pour the custard mixture into the ramekins. Place the baking pan in the oven, and pour warm water into the baking pan — enough so the water comes to within about 1 inch of the top of the ramekins. Bake the custards in a 300 degree oven for 30-40 minutes — the custard will still be a little wobbly. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Rebecca Ets-Hokin is a certified culinary professional. Visit her Web site at www.GoRebecca.com. She can be reached at Rebecca@GoRebecca.com.

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