Any Spain-dweller especially in the campo or countryside knows that, if he has a lemon tree or he has a neighbour with a lemon tree, then at harvest time there will be buckets and bags full of the glorious, vibrant and shiny-skinned lemons.
As the book by Chris Stewart, Driving Over Lemons, suggests, they really can be everywhere like the olives strewn across the ground.
But how do you cope will such a glut when the rest of the year lemons are bought one or two at a time? Being faced with carrier bags full can be pretty daunting. One of my favourite ways of dealing with them is to preserve them in jars like the Moroccans do, and then for those wonderful North African recipes that call for preserved lemons, they are part of my store cupboard.
The downside of preserving lemons is that I don´t actually use them very often, so instead of bags of fresh lemons, cupboard space is occupied by jars of preserved ones, but it makes me feel better that I have at least processed them in some way.
Another great, quick and easy way to reduce the lemon glut is to make some of them into lemon curd. Here is a simple recipe for lemon curd lovers. Unfortunately for me, it's another space occupier in the cupboard, as it's not a favourite amongst my boys.
Lemon Curd
Ingredients
- 1 cup white sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup lemon juice
- 2 or 3 lemons, grated zest of
- 1/2 cup butter, melted
Method
Advice - grate the lemon zest before juicing the lemons.
Using a bowl that can be put into the microwave, add the sugar and eggs and then whisk them together until the mixture is smooth. If it's not very smooth, then put it through a sieve.
Stir in lemon juice, lemon zest and butter. Then put it into the microwave to cook for one minute. Take it out and stir it well, then cook again for another minute. Continue like this until the mixture is thick and coats the back of a metal spoon well.
Remove the mixture from the microwave and pour into small sterile jars. Jars can be used hot straight from the dishwasher or put into a large pan of boiling water which has boiled for several minutes. The latter is preferable for things that are kept longer, but for this lemon curd, straight from the dishwasher seems to be fine.
Store for up to three weeks in the fridge.
Lemons are also great for making your own natural face scrub.
Rachel L. Webb - Rachel L Webb lives in and writes mainly about Andalucia. She enjoys exploring the region and shares her explorations through her website ...
