When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade—but you can also make amazing dinners and refreshing desserts. Lemons can add a sourness to a dish, or brighten it up and leave you feeling full and refreshed all at the same time.
The vibrant fresh colour is appealing to the eye, and its brightness will make it and the dish stand out from the crowd.
So, lemons are not just for a refreshing drink on a hot day; they can open your taste buds to new and exciting dishes, snacks, and desserts, and even breathe new life into old, tired recipes.
3 Savoury Recipes Using Lemons
Here are three simple and easy-to-make lemon recipes to brighten up your evening and dinner table. Whether it is a romantic meal for two, or you are feeding a family of five or more, these simple dishes will have people coming back for seconds or even thirds.
With just a few simple ingredients, the added lemon brings out the other flavours, and can even intensify the naturally stronger flavours of protein in the dish without being overwhelming.
1. Lemon roast chicken
Chicken is so versatile naturally, and with the right side vegetables, it can make a hearty health dish for an occasion.
When cooking a roast chicken, there is the possibility of the meat drying out. Thus, try stuffing the bird with one or two lemons cut in half. Not only will this help to keep the meat moist and juicy, but it also infuses the lemon, giving it a subtle “fresh” feeling, taste, and smell.
Even if you only have one lemon, you can make freshly squeezed lemon juice. You can then rub it on the inside of the cavity and sprinkle it with salt and pepper.
2. Sea bass with lemon potatoes
Salmon is the fish we often tend to see with lemon slices, or served with lemon, and even cooked in lemon juice. However, fresh sea bass is another great meaty fish that does well with lemon and vegetables.
In this recipe, you add the lemon to the potatoes as they cook. This helps to give them a burst of flavour and be softer in the middle while steaming the flavour up to the fish to enhance its natural and strong taste.
3. Lemon pepper chicken
Using a combination of lemon pepper seasoning to flavour the chicken while it cooks in the pan, and then garnished with lemon slices and fresh parsley, takes this easy midweek dinner to a whole other dimension.
Served with seasonal vegetables, rice, pasta, or even just a fresh garden salad, this quick meal will break up the typical normal dinners that can get boring when eaten day in and day out.
Surprise your family with this flavour-bursting, exciting, and new dish. You can even char the lemon slices in the pan while the chicken cooks to give the garnish a different and new sensation.
3 Sweet Recipes Using Lemons
On a hot summer’s day, you may well have a craving for something sweet yet light, fluffy, and refreshing. Is there such a thing, though? The answer is yes!
Lemons provide the perfect combination when mixed with sugar. The sour and tartness changes and it becomes tangy and sweet instead.
Below are three of the most iconic lemon recipes that combine light and fluffy with tangy and sweet. All three dishes are perfect for any weather and occasion.
1. Classic French lemon tart
This baked tart is the perfect combination of tangy, sweet, and gooey filling, laid on a bed of flakey, soft pie crust.
It’s perfect for a summer picnic, a potluck dessert, or just because you have that sweet craving (though it can take two hours to cook). The simplicity of this dessert, paired with a good dollop of fresh cool cream, will have people asking where you trained and if they can get the recipe.
2. Lemon meringue tart
This famous, gooey tart (or pie) is a staple in the dessert world. It is best known for its burst of tangy goodness in the form of a sharp lemon curd filling, nestled under a fluffy cover of meringue.
It can be found everywhere all year round and is easy enough to make at home. This treat lends its unique strong flavour to any occasion, helping you to cleanse your palate after any meal.
This dessert works perfectly on a flakey pie crust, or a cookie-based crust, which you can purchase premade to make it quicker and easier to put together at the last moment for the unexpected dinner guest.
3. Lemon drizzle cake
Aside from the thoughts of creamy pie fillings, typically associated with citrus-flavoured pies, cakes and other pastries can also benefit from a citrus burst.
Lemon can add flavour and colour to any cake, with the benefit of keeping the batter moist as it cooks, thus leading to a fluffier finished product. Combined with candied lemon slices and lemon drizzle icing, you have the perfect refreshing slice of fluffy heaven for any occasion.
As the cake bakes in the oven, gentle lemon tones will fill the air, giving a country cottage feel to the home, and making it more inviting and refreshing for your guests as they walk in.
The Versatile Citrus Kitchen Aid You Never Knew You Had
Lemons are more than just a sour fruit, providing good cleaning aids and refreshing lemonades. In fact, they can be used in so many different ways.
Savoury main dishes will benefit from being elevated to new heights and excitement. Sweet treats become refreshing, soft, and fluffy, while acting as a great palate-cleanser, leaving you open to a late-night snack or just being able to carry on the party without being uncomfortably full.
Once upon a time, lemons were used in quite limited ways. Join the lemon revolution today by expanding their cooking uses and exploring the benefits of healthy living that they can also give to you.
