Saving the Summer Citrus Season

In California nothing is as iconic amongst urban farmers you didn't even KNOW were urban farmers until you see them abashedly bringing in enormous shopping bags of lemons, limes, oranges, and grapefruits and leaving them in the employee lounges at the office with the exhortation FREE PLEASE TAKE THEM. Our weather is so perfect for citrus a typical homeowner uninterested in gardening can still end up with hundreds of pounds of citrus excess, and our farmer's markets are brimming with citrus. Since one person can only eat so many orange slices, it can feel overwhelming to have so much excess. What to do with it all?

On a recent trip to Sorrento, Italy, arguably the citrus capital of the world with their sunny climate and volcanic soil, I saw lmeons the size of grapefruits and oranges the size of canteloupes and everywhere creative uses for these wonderful sweet acidic treats. The roadside coming down the Amalfi coast was dotted with vendors selling fresh squeezed orange juice (nothing like it) and lime and lemon granita--simple lemonade or limeade frozen into slush and swimming with wafer thin sliced fruit. And dried fruit and nut seller in one of the open markets sold all kinds of candied fruit--a little different than our tasteless, leathery version of dried fruit. The candied strawberries in particular were so good I probably ate a pound just on their own in that first day; and my other favorite, surprising me utterly were the candied lime slices. Even in America you'll sometimes find candied orange peel or jellied orange, usually coated or dipped in chocolate. But limes I hadn't seen before in the dried fruit sections, and certainly not these lovely green round slices coated in citrus sugar. The dried fruit vendor confidently offered a myriad of samples to everyone who so much as paused to look at his wares, and I soon found out why: everything was delicious and surprising. As soon as I got home I went looking for a recipe to candy fruit and found it was incredibly easy to recapture that taste of Italy.

Slice limes thinly and blanch in boiling water for two minutes. Drain, and then in the same pot bring equal parts sugar and water to boil, and simmer lime slices for 10-15 minutes. I wanted a lot so I sliced up a dozen limes and made three cups (3 c. water, 3 c. sugar) simple syrup which was plenty to cover the limes and keep them off the bottom. Drain again but save the lime infused syrup for margaritas, tea, or ice cream. Spread on a cooling rack for one hour, then dust with sugar.

When trying to figure out what else to do with your citrus, remember that lemon isn't the only kind of citrus you can use for curds. All citrus can be made into curds--a basic recipe is:

4 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
2 lemons, zested and juiced (or 4 meyer lemons, 4 limes, 3 oranges)
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cu. butter

Whisk and cook over medium high heat, stirring gently but continuously with a heat proof rubber spatula or wooden spoon until the butter melts and the mixture thickens, about 5-10 minutes. Don't let the mixture boil or it will curdle. Transfer the curd to a bowl and stir off the heat to stop the cooking and let it cool.

No Waste Cooking

Massimo Bottura has always been my favorite of the Chef's Table documentary features, with his passion for the agricultural region he hails from, Emilia Romagna, and his dedication to retaining the artisan techniques of that region in crafting Parmegiano Reggiano, prosciutto di parma and Balsamic Vinegar. When an earthquake left Emilia Romagna's Parmegiano Reggiano industry in danger of total collapse with 300,000 aging wheels of Parmigiano damaged, Massimo Bottura used his restaurant to feature a myriad of preparations of Parmegiano to encourage use of the delicate ingredient and to become a champion of local food and farm-to-table in Northern Italy. Not only is Bottura passionate about tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, parmesan and all foods Italian, but he's become a charming advocate for sustainable eating with no-waste cooking. 

No-waste cooking is second nature to any urban farmer who's worked to nurture a single jar of sauce from a stubborn tomato plant or a single meal from a bed full of green bean plants. We know how precious every vegetable from the backyard garden is, and want to use every scrap. Here's a handful of recipes: one Massimo Bottura's recipe for meat broth which can be used in vegetable soups, risotto, or drunk straight for health as a bone broth; and then some uses for the pounds of stewed beef and chicken left-over after cooking the slow-cooked broth. 

Meat Broth (source: Massimo Bottura "Master Class")

1 medium yellow onion, halved
1 whole chicken (3 to 4 pounds, or 11⁄4 to 13⁄4 kilograms), preferably
free-range and organic
1 beef short rib (la costola in Italian) 2 medium carrots, peeled
2 medium celery stalks, trimmed
2 fresh bay leaves
1 leftover rind Parmigiano-Reggiano 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns Flaky sea salt

Place the stockpot over high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to maintain a gentle simmer, and cook until reduced by a third, up to
six hours (or until the vegetables lose their flavor). Every 10 to 15 minutes, use a spoon to skim off and discard any impurities from the surface of the bubbling broth. When the broth is ready, remove it from the heat. Remove and discard the meat and large vegetables with tongs (you can use the chicken meat to make chicken salad, sandwiches, or for chicken noodle soup, etc.). Using a ladle, spoon the broth slowly through a chinois, or sieve, into another saucepan. Taste the broth, and season lightly with some salt. Serve immediately or pour the broth into storage containers, letting it cool to room temperature before putting it into the freezer. It will keep for up to three months. Any frozen stock that you don’t use for this recipe can be used to make soups, as flavorful liquid in a meatloaf, or even to enrich the gravy for your Thanksgiving turkey.

I was inspired by Massimo's suggestion to use the leftover chicken to make chicken salad to make a version of the chicken salad I make, inspired by a pesto chicken salad wrap I've had in at Sammy's Woodfired Grill. You know how much I love to get better versions of good stuff without paying full price! so when I had this at Sammy's (chopped chicken with pesto mayonnaise, olives, red peppers and chopped lettuce) I came home and made my own version with much more flavor and fresher vegetables. You can use a rotisserie chicken for the mixed dark and white chicken in this recipe, or all white breast meat if you wish. In the interests of less waste (less glass jars, less packaging, less transportation) I tried to use more of what came from my garden and less prepackaged food (basil and olive oil with fresh parmesan rather than using a canned pesto sauce). 

Basil Chicken Salad

Mixed chicken meat from one full chicken (can use the stewed meat from making bone broth, or a rotisserie chicken

Chopped fresh basil 

Chopped fresh Italian parsley

1/3 cup grated parmegiano reggiano

1 roasted pepper, skin blackened and removed, seeds removed

1  6 oz. jar olives, kalamata or green

2 lbs mixed heirloom tomatoes, chopped

1 tbl capers, rinsed and chopped.

Maldon sea salt flakes

Cracked black pepper

Balsamic vinegar

Butter lettuce

Chop the herbs and mix with the parmegiano, then mix into the chicken. Saute the chopped tomatoes with olive oil and salt just enough to soften and put everything, juices, oil, and tomatoes, into the salad. Chop the peppers, capers and olives and mix in. Adjust for salt and add a sprinkling of pepper. If desired add mayonnaise to bind the ingredients together but the oil from the tomatoes should bind everything nicely especially if you are using the stewed chicken from the bone broth. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar and eat on butter lettuce cups. 

South Carolina Barbecued Beef

2 lbs stewed beef from making meat broth, shredded

1/2 cup yellow mustard 

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup white vinegar

2 tbl worcestershire sauce

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

Mix all ingredients but the beef to make a yellow mustard based Carolina barbecue sauce. Mix with the stewed beef and eat on buns or with a fork.