Lemon Zest is just one of the marvelous cookbooks written by Lori Longbotham. A diverse author, Lori delves in both desserts and savories with books like Luscious Chocolate Desserts and Summer Chicken.
In Lemon Zest, she shows off the power of lemon zest, and juice, in dishes from start to finish. There are chapters devoted to:
- Salads and Salad Dressing
- Vegetables
- Grains, Pasta, and Beans
- Seafood, Poultry and Meat
- Desserts
- Lemonade and Other Drinks
- Breakfast
- Sauces
- Condiments
- Pantry
There are few recipes that have lemon as the primary ingredient — lemonade for sure. And zest? Unless you snort it, zest is always an element but not the dominant ingredient. Still, lemon always seems to carry presence in a recipe. That tang is had to lose.
Earlier this week I posted a Fresh Lemon Corn Custard that is, in a word, sublime. Just a touch of zest makes this dish shine.
Other lemon ideas brimming in this slim book include:
Berry Lemonade [actually, lemonades of a sorts!]
Fresh Basil and Lemon Mashed Potatoes
Homemade Lemoncello
Lemony Crab Cakes
Parchment Baked Potatoes with Mint and Lemon
Lemony Tomato Soup
Penne with No-Cook Tomato Sauce, Lemon and Herbs
Snapper with Lemon Browned Butter and Capers
Lemon-Tarragon Tartar Sauce
Just about anything you make tastes better with lemon juice or zest. Well, not brownies. I wouldn’t combine chocolate and lemon. But, yes, there is a lovely lemon bar here, a ginger lemon bar at that!
Published in 2002, Lemon Zest still zips along with flavor. It sits on the row in our bookshelf where we put the “must be able to find now” cookbooks. It will for you, too.