Meyer Lemon Apotheosis

January 4, 2009 8:36 PM

What excellent recipes have you tried with Meyer lemons?

I always get all excited when it's Meyer lemon season and buy a whole bunch of them, and then I hate to just use them for normal things. So have you made anything that you thought was especially good?
I suppose recipes for regular lemons would be good too.

In past years I've roasted them with potatoes and garlic, made ice cream (the one from David Lebovitz's book, and it's AMAZING), marmalade, candied peel, lemonade, these two pasta dishes, and spritz cookies.

I've also read this article on 100 things to do with a Meyer lemon.

There are 1 million recipes that I can find on Google, but what have you actually made or eaten that really shows off that beautiful perfumy tart flavor?

posted by exceptinsects to food & drink (16 comments total)

Sorbet, which is perfectly paired with chocolate.
posted by mynameisluka at 8:49 PM on January 4

My favorite use for them is lemon curd, I make a big batch and use some for a lemon tart...
posted by foodgeek at 8:56 PM on January 4

I also fall into the Meyer lemon trap every year. This Christmas I candied the peels and squeezed out the juice for Salty Dogs, replacing the usual grapefruit juice. The peels made great gifts, and the Salty Dogs were good for spreading cheer.
posted by Alison at 8:59 PM on January 4

The recipe for the candied peels came from the December 2008 issue of Martha Stewart Living.
posted by Alison at 9:02 PM on January 4

Lemonade and Lemon meringue pie are both good with HALF Meyer lemons. They really need a little of the tartness of the Eurekas or whatever your conventional ones are, though.

Meyer lemon baked on fish or chicken is often good. They grow everywhere near where my family lives so they put them in all sorts of dishes, but they aren't exactly recipes.
posted by small_ruminant at 9:09 PM on January 4

They are fantastic with poached fish. Here's how you make a good relish with them:

Zest a couple of the lemons, then carefully cut off the remaining peel/pith with a sharp paring knife. Then use the paring knife to cut the sections out one by one, so you're left with a bowl of lemon pulp and juice, but no membranes. Add the zest back in. Then add a few glugs of a good olive oil, some salt and pepper, and a few chopped leaves of basil. Poach some fish — salmon is nice, but less boldly flavored fishes work well too. Throw that lemon mush on top. Oh man, so good.
posted by adiabat at 9:15 PM on January 4 [1 favorite]

Meyer lemon baked on fish or chicken is often good.

My wife makes a poached salmon dish with meyer lemon relish and thinly sliced meyer lemons on top and it's sublime. She said it's in the Alice Waters Chez Pannise cookbook.
posted by mathowie at 11:01 PM on January 4 [1 favorite]

My 86-year-old grandmother has a recipe she calls her "Easy Lemon Pie" recipe, and it would definitely work for meyers:

Take 1 lemon, whole
Drop it into a blender with
4 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1/4 c (1 stick) butter

Blend for a couple of minutes until relatively smooth.
Pour mixture into pie crust (we use a store-bought graham crust, but she makes her own)

Bake for 40 minutes at 350F (until middle is not gooey)

Serve with whipped cream.

I've also got her (tried and true) lemon marmalade recipe if you're interested.
posted by sleeping bear at 12:00 AM on January 5 [1 favorite]

Lemon Sponge Pudding shows off Meyer lemons' perfumey qualities very nicely.
posted by Johnny Assay at 5:32 AM on January 5

Use them in savory dishes when you get tired of sweets; make preserved lemons as in the 100 things... article you linked (similar technique here), then get some Morrocan or other mediterranean recipes; for example, the classic chicken with lemon and olives.
posted by TedW at 7:08 AM on January 5

Lemon curd on cheesecake.
posted by jamjam at 8:02 AM on January 5

Meyer Lemon Sables. Light, buttery, crispy, better than spritz I think, if you are in the mood for another cookie. You can make the dough and freeze the logs wrapped in wax paper (and maybe a layer of foil for long term storage), and then bake off as you wish.

Another favorite lemon dessert is a lemon meringue cheese pie that in the Joy of Cheesecake. Huzzah, Google Book Search has the recipe! This involves making what I would call a lemon curd and folding it into a cheesecake mixture & topping with meringue. It is divine.
posted by sararah at 8:48 AM on January 5

Meyer lemon aioli is good.
posted by small_ruminant at 8:55 AM on January 5

The Cook's Illustrated recipe for Lemon Bars is quite good ordinarily, but just heavenly when made with Meyer lemons.
posted by Wavelet at 12:14 PM on January 5

Meyer Lemon Cake with Lavender Cream from Gourmet. My boyfriend made this for my birthday last year, and it was pretty much my favorite cake ever.
posted by min at 2:15 PM on January 5 [1 favorite]

Amish lemon pie with a combination of meyer and eureka lemons is always good.
posted by jadepearl at 7:04 PM on January 5