Dishes with lemon zest: video recipes

The peel of a lemon, like other citrus fruits, consists of two layers: the flavedo and the albedo. The white, loose subcutaneous part, albedo, has an obsessive bitter taste that can ruin any dish. But the glossy yellow peel, flavedo, contains a high concentration of lemon essential oil, which has a pleasant aroma and delicate taste, and it is this that is called zest. Plus, the vibrant lemon zest can add great color nuance to the food’s appearance.

The zest can be removed as shavings, in small pieces, or in one long spiral. Spirals of zest are often garnished not only with dishes, but also with cocktail drinks. To remove the zest, use either a sharply sharpened thin fruit knife, grater or special devices – cesters. The lemon should first be thoroughly washed with hot water, dried with a paper towel and peeled off, carefully adjusting the pressure, and hence the depth of peeling.

One of the most popular peeling tools among experienced chefs and professional chefs are Microplan graters and their analogues.

Butter with lemon zest is great not only because it can be used in sandwiches, especially with seafood, but also rubbed into meat before baking to form a golden fragrant crust, put eggs in a yolk in a bag, cut into pieces and add to hot dishes before serving. To make this butter, you will need: – 100 g unsalted butter; – 2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest; – a few drops of lemon juice.

Leave the oil at room temperature, wait until it softens, and rub in a bowl with a wooden or silicone spatula, add the zest and juice, if desired, season with finely chopped dill, mix well, put on a piece of foil, roll into a sausage and put in the freezer. Store frozen butter in the refrigerator.

It goes well with citrus and parsley, which you can also add to lemon oil

Many people can be pleasantly surprised by the new fresh citrus flavor of champignons, obtained by adding lemon zest to a dish. For two cups of thinly sliced ​​champignons, use: – 2 tablespoons of chopped coriander greens; – 1 teaspoon lemon zest; – 2 teaspoons of butter; – salt; – ¼ cups of chopped onions; – 1 teaspoon of chopped ginger root; – 1 teaspoon of minced garlic; – ¼ glasses of white wine; – 2 tablespoons of cornstarch, diluted in 3 cups of vegetable broth; – a pinch of sugar.

Heat half the butter in a frying pan, add the onion, ginger and garlic and fry until the vegetables are transparent, pour in the wine and simmer over high heat for several minutes, pour in the broth with diluted starch, add sugar and salt, mix well and cook the sauce until thickened … Melt the other half of the oil in another pan and fry the mushrooms until golden brown, add the sauce, add lemon zest and coriander greens, cook for another 2-3 minutes.