Notes from my Kitchen 14 - Lemons

I was given a basket of rough skinned lemons, perfect for making cloudy lemonade. It is the easiest thing in the world to make and the syrup keeps well in the fridge and can be used to make lemon iced tea too. Personalise the flavour of your lemon syrup, I use lemon rind and lemon grass. Try culinary lavender and a vanilla pod, or mint and lemon balm (melissa). The possibilities are endless. This recipe make 2 litres.

4 cups of sugar
4 cups of water
rind of 1/2 lemon
2 cups of lemon juice ( I use a citrus juicer as this saves time and measures the juice - about 12 lemons)
1 lemon grass stalk cut in half.

On a low heat dissolve the sugar in the water, together with the lemon rind and lemon grass. Once dissolved allow to cool. Add the lemon juice and leave for 2 hours to steep.
Strain the mixture to remove the pips, and pour the syrup into 2 sterilised bottle (I use olive oil bottles). Refridgerate once cooled completely. Serve with lemon slices, ice, mint and carbonated water.

Lemon Curd is a delicious way to serve up lemon on a plate. Serve with scones and cream, mix into some vanilla butter cream icing for a zesty cake or cupcake topping, stir into some vanilla ice-cream for a delicious lemon dessert.

Tonight I am making salmon for dinner. I cook it in the oven on a high temperature, then make a paste with olive oil, soft butter, lemon zest and lemon thyme. I place this on top of each fillet for the last 5 minutes if cooking. then squeeze over some fresh lemon juice when I take them out of the oven.