Category: lemon

Roasted Asparagus with Lemon

Is there any vegetable that roasting won’t make delicious?? Asparagus is great, but roasting it and adding a bit of lemon takes it to a whole other level. This is one of the quickest, tastiest side dishes you can make.  I would eat this for a snack.

ROASTED ASPARAGUS WITH LEMON (serves 2-4) 
– 1 lb. asparagus, ends trimmed – get thicker spears, if you can – these will hold up better during roasting
– zest of 1 lemon
– 1 tsp. kosher salt, or more to taste (kosher is best here, or any other larger-grain salt)
– couple of grinds fresh black pepper
– 2 tbsp. EVOO
– squeeze of lemon juice, for topping

1. Preheat oven to 425.

2. Trim the asparagus – you can kind of just bend them towards the bottom, and the “woodsy” part should snap off naturally.

3. In a large ziplock bag, combine the EVOO, lemon zest, and half of the salt & pepper.

4. Add asparagus spears to the bag, zip it, and roll the spears around inside the bag so they get covered with everything.

5. Add asparagus to a roasting pan in a single layer.  Top with the remaining kosher salt & pepper.

6. Roast for approx. 10 minutes, shaking the pan about halfway through to get them to roll around a bit and get all sides cooking.
7. Remove from the oven, squeeze a little lemon over them, and serve.

— Also, check out what some of my girlfriends and I did last night!  Indigo dyeing!!!  This was so much fun, and we got pretty creative, and I felt like I was back in summer camp, which was awesome.  There are some seriously talented people out there who do this “Shibori dyeing” (to clarify, we are not those people) – check out this blog for a little tutorial:  http://honestlywtf.com/diy/shibori-diy/  
After you dip these, even though the end color is indigo, the pieces come out kind of an acid green. So weird.
Some of our masterpieces!!  This was such a fun, and funny, craft project. Definitely worth the blue-stained fingernails today!

Avocado & Tomato Salad with Lemon Olive Oil

Ohhh, this is just the best thing ever.  There are 5 main ingredients in this recipe, and they all combine to create one of the most delicious salads I’ve ever had.  The creaminess of a whole avocado together with toasted, super thin slices of almonds is insanely good on its own.  Combine that with the peppery-ness of some arugula, the freshness of plum tomatoes, and a little dusting of parmesan cheese, dress it with a really simple lemon olive oil, good grief.  This seems like a really indulgent little lunch, but it’s so healthy, and pretty, too. The next time we have people over for dinner, I think I’m going to make a platter of this for the salad course. Any takers?

AVOCADO & TOMATO SALAD WITH ARUGULA, TOASTED ALMONDS, & LEMON OLIVE OIL (serves 1)
– 1 ripe avocado, halved
– 1.5 plum tomatoes, cut into quarters (discard the middle part with the seeds)
– handful arugula leaves, or mixed greens
– handful thinly sliced almonds (you can find a bag of these in most grocery stores), toasted
– parmesan cheese, for topping
– juice of half a lemon
– 2 tbsp. EVOO
– good-quality salt, for topping

1. In a small pan, toast the almonds over medium heat, shaking the pan frequently so they don’t burn.  They should toast up pretty quickly – maybe only 2-3 minutes.  Remove pan from the heat and set aside. 


2. Cut the avocado in half – run a knife through it, twist it open, then carefully whack the avocado pit with the knife blade and remove it. Then, run your knife around the perimeter of the avocado halves, and carefully squeeze out each avocado half.


3. Arrange arugula leaves in the center of a plate, then place the avocado halves on either side.  Add sliced tomatoes.


4. Combine the lemon juice and EVOO, stir to combine.  Drizzle over the avocado/tomato/arugula.


5. Top with the toasted almond slices, dust with a little parmesan cheese, then add a pinch of really good quality salt crystals over everything to bring it all together. 

I’m going to go make another one of these right now.  So good!

Greek Turkey Meatloaf “Roll-Up”

I love making Spanakopita, even though all those delicate layers of pastry dough are my nemesis (nemeses??).  That said, all those Greek flavors – spinach, feta, a little lemon, and dill – are some of my very favorites.  Could we take those and incorporate them into a turkey meatloaf?  Yes.  Yes we could.  This was delicious, and I didn’t tell B what I had added, but he noticed the light lemon and dill flavor after a couple of bites.  They definitely add a different dimension to your typical turkey meatloaf, but in an awesome way. Rolling this up makes it so pretty, too!
 
GREEK TURKEY MEATLOAF “ROLL-UP” (serves 4-6)
Ingredients:
– 2 lbs ground turkey
– 1 Vidalia onion, diced
– 5-6 packed cups fresh baby spinach (approx. a 10-oz. bag), wilted, drained, and chopped
– 1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled
– 1 egg & 1 egg white, slightly beaten
– 1 cup panko bread crumbs
– 2 tbspns olive oil (or 1 tbspn olive oil and 1 tbspn butter)
– salt and pepper
– dried dill (1.5 tbsps)
– juice of 3/4 of a lemon  (approx. 1.5 tbsp)
 
1. Preheat the oven to 400. 
 
2. Heat 2 tbspns olive oil (or 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter) in a large saute pan over medium heat.
 
3. Dice the vidalia onion like this:
Half an onion, slice off the top part (but keep the “root” part intact) and then make slits along the ridges of the onion, almost down to the root. You can kind of follow the natural lines of the onion.  Then flip it on its side, and slice it horizontally. The onion will “dice” itself naturally.
 
4. Saute the onion in the oil or oil/butter combo until soft, add salt/pepper to taste.
 
5. Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl, combine turkey, dill, breadcrumbs, the lemon juice, the egg, 1/2 a teaspoon salt, and 1/2 a teaspoon pepper.
 
6. When onion is soft, remove from the pan and put on a plate to cool slightly.
 
7. Put pan that previously contained onions back on the heat, and add spinach to it.  Lower heat and stir until just wilted, then remove spinach and drain by either pressing spinach against the sides of a sieve, using a cheesecloth to wring it out in bunches, or squeezing most of the liquid out with your hands (but let it cool first, obviously). When the spinach is drained, roughly chop. Set aside.
 
8. Add cooled onions to the turkey mixture, stir everything to combine. You can really get your hands in there to mix it up, which is probably easiest. Form turkey mixture into a ball, and then press into an oblong shape on a piece of wax paper, and flatten minimally.
 
9. Top turkey mixture with chopped spinach, and then top with the crumbled feta:
10. Using the wax paper to help get things moving, roll the turkey meatloaf, beginning at either short end of the roll. It should look like this when you’re finished:
12. Put the meatloaf in a foil-lined baking pan, and bake in the oven at 400 for approx. an hour, or when the internal temperature reaches 160 Degrees 160 degrees.  About 45 minutes into this, I took it out of the oven and drained off the fat/liquid that had pooled in the foil. You don’t have to, but it probably helps.
 
This is really pretty, so tasty, and is even better for lunch the next day, hot or cold.

Roasted Lemon Cauliflower

I would eat this every day, if it didn’t kind of make your kitchen smell like you were roasting tupperware.  That said, please open a window and try this, because it’s one of the healthiest, simplest, tastiest snacks you’ll ever have. 

ROASTED CAULIFLOWER WITH LEMON (serves 4 as a snack or side)
– 1 large head cauliflower
– 2 lemons, zest of 1
– 1-2 tbsp EVOO
– 1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1. Preheat oven to 450.

2. Wash and thoroughly dry the cauliflower, then cut into florets.  The easiest way to do this is to cut the cauliflower into quarters, then cut out the middle “stem” part.  The florets should fall away naturally, and you won’t end up with teeny pieces of cauliflower all over your kitchen.

 


3. In a small bowl, combine the juice of 1/2 a lemon and the salt, mixing to combine. Then, using a Microplane, add the zest of two lemons (just the yellow – zesting the white part, or the “pith”will make this really bitter) and the EVOO, and mix that together as well.


4.  Pour this lemon/EVOO mixture over the cauliflower florets, and toss to combine.  Arrange the florets in a single layer on an ungreased roasting sheet and put in the oven.


5. Every 10 minutes or so, take the cauliflower out of the oven, squeeze the juice of 1/2 a lemon over them, and flip them with a spatula. Repeat until the edges of the cauliflower are deep brown and caramelized – this should take approx. 30 minutes.

Cauliflower, after the first flip.

6. When roasted, remove the florets from the oven, squeeze the juice of another lemon half over them, then serve. This is fantastic either hot or cold.