May 2021 archive

‘Simply miles away from the nearest lemon’

Love that quote.

A complaint from the priest and humorist Sidney Smith who used it to describe a parish that he was sent to in deepest Yorkshire in1809.

There is no substitute for the flavour of a lemon. They’re not something that you want to find yourself without in a working kitchen. They’ll dress your salad, ice your cake, stuff your chicken and crown a proper gin and tonic. They are simultaneously unique and indispensable.

The Glasraí crew are currently supplying us with some particularly delicious and flavourful  Italian ones. The lemons are organic, and although not all unwaxed lemons are organic,  all organic ones are unwaxed. Lemons are usually waxed to extend their shelf life, but for the recipes below, or any recipe that uses the zest, you’re better off to use the unwaxed variety. If you’d like to read some more information about lemons and waxing, here’s a great article from The Guardian.

As well as lemons, we’ve also started to sell our own lemon curd.

It’s a great addition to a sponge cake or lovely on toast.

Here’s 2 of our favourite other lemon recipes…

 

 

Lemon Drizzle Cake

2 eggs

175 g Caster Sugar

75ml Double Cream

175 g plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

Finely grated zest of 2 lemons

175 g very soft butter

for the glaze

100g Icing sugar

juice of one lemon

 

Method

1- Set oven to 160 C. Great a 1kg /2lb loaf tin and line it with parchment paper.

2- Using a cake mixer or electric whisk, beat the caster sugar and butter until pale in colour, then add the flour and and eggs in incremental amounts and incorporate

3- Add all the other ingredients with a pinch of salt and beat until combined. Turn into the prepared tin and cook for 40-45 minutes until a skewer inserted into middle of cake comes out clean.

4- Combine sugar and lemon juice with a fork or thick being sure to smooth out any lumps.

5- Remove cake from tin and allow to cool for 30 mins or so before pouring the fondant over the cake.Leave to set before serving

 

Lemon Posset.

A true example of a recipe that is so much greater than it’s sum of parts – cream, sugar and lemons. It’s the perfect end to a meal, yet has become overshadowed by it’s European relations, the Panna cotta and creme brûlée. Once it’s set, it can be accompanied by a scatter of  seasonal berries or a some rhubarb as shown in picture.

300 ml Cream

75g caster sugar

finely grated zest of 1 lemon

2 tbsp lemon juice.

Method

  • Put the cream, sugar and lemon zest in a small saucepan and warm over a low heat, stirring ll the time to make sure the sugar dissolves , and bubbles start to form around the edge. Cook gently without stirring for 2 minutes, and try to avoid a rolling boil.
  • Remove from the heated stir in the lemon juice
  • Pour into 4 small glasses (80 ml each)
  • Cover with cling film and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, or leave overnight.