LEMONS GALORE AND A MARINADE FOR FISH

 

Lots of lemons!

We had to prune back the lemon tree this year, resulting in many fruit-laden branches being cut down. I´ve got lemons galore, a crate full of them, and plenty more on the tree. 

Lemons are essential in my kitchen. A squeeze of their tangy, fragrant juice adds sparkle to many foods. Fish, absolutely, but also pork chop, roast chicken, lentils, artichoke, avocado and much more. Lemon juice is a boon for low-salt cooking. It helps bring up the flavor of many foods without added sodium. Grated lemon zest adds zing to everything from pasta to veal cutlets. In Spanish repostería, lemon zest is, along with cinnamon, the basic flavoring for puddings and custards. 

I´ve still got more lemons than I can use! I don´t use more than a couple Moroccan preserved lemons in a whole year, so I won´t be making those. I don´t consume anything with sugar, so no lemon marmalade. Maybe I´ll try Indian-style lemon pickle. 

Meanwhile, here´s an easy lemon marinade typically used for fresh anchovies. After a brief (one hour) time in the marinade, the small fish are floured and fried. This preparation is traditional in Málaga, where both anchovies and lemons are always available. 

Fried fresh anchovies are marinated in lemon juice with garlic and parsley. This is a good plate for shared tapas.

A bright chopped salad to go with the boquerones. This is a winter version of pipirrana, with clementines and avocados in place of tomatoes. 

A terrific lunch--boneless fried anchovies and a citrusy salad.

Lemon Marinated Fried Fresh Anchovies

Boquerones al Limón

Filleted anchovies, before soaking.

I bought 500 grams (about 1 pound 2 ounces) of fresh anchovies (boquerones). That’s about 20-24 small fish. I was all set to clean and de-bone them myself, but the vendor quickly did it without my even asking. It´s totally easy, but messy. Use a knife to cut off the head and pull out the guts. With the knife tip, lift the spine and gently pull it down across the fish’s belly. Cut off the spine (with knife or scissors) at the tail, leaving the two fillets attached at the tail. 

After they have been filleted, the anchovies are soaked in salted water from two to 24 hours (refrigerated) to clean them of residual blood and whiten the flesh. Soaking is an optional step, useful if you don´t wish to cook them the same day as purchase.

The small anchovies need only 45 minutes to an hour in the lemon marinade to acquire flavor. Much longer and the acid of the lemon juice will “cook” the delicate flesh. The same marinade can be used with larger fish fillets, but they can be marinated for two hours or more.

Serves 4-6 as a shared tapa or 2 as a main dish.

2 dozen fresh anchovies 

Cold water

1 teaspoon salt

Lemon juice

½ teaspoon coarse salt

1 clove garlic

3 tablespoons chopped parsley

Flour

Olive oil for frying

Lift and pull out the spine.

Clean the anchovies by removing the heads and pulling out the innards. Pull out the spine and cut it off above the tail, leaving the two fillets attached at the tail. Place the filleted fish in a bowl and cover with cold water (about 2 cups). Add 1 teaspoon salt and a few drops of lemon juice. Cover the bowl and refrigerate at least 2 hours and up to 24 hours.

Crush the garlic in a mortar with the coarse salt. Add the parsley and crush to a paste. Stir in ¼ cup of lemon juice. (If preferred, this can be done in a mini food processor.)

After soaking, layer anchovies with marinade.

Drain the soaking anchovies. Rinse them in cold water. Layer the anchovy fillets skin side down, in a non-reactive container. Spread the garlic-parsley-lemon marinade over each layer. Cover tightly and refrigerate 45 to 60 minutes.

Drain off the lemon marinade but do not rinse the anchovies. Pick up a fillet by the tail and pull it between the fingers to remove most of the parsley and garlic. Place the fillets on a paper towel and pat them dry. 

Dredge fillets in flour, pat off excess.

Place flour in a shallow container. Heat the oil (360ºF)in a frying pan. Dredge the anchovies in flour and either pat off excess flour or shake the floured anchovies in a sieve to remove excess flour. Place them in the hot oil without crowding the pan. Fry until they are beginning to brown on the bottom. Carefully turn them and fry the reverse sides. They need less than 1 minute per side.

Skim the anchovies out of the oil and let them drain on paper towels. Serve hot. 

Chopped Salad with Clementines and Avocado

Pipirrana de Clementinas y Aguacate

Pipirrana is a summer chopped salad with tomatoes that is a splendid accompaniment to fried fish. This version, with clementines taking the place of the tomatoes, is perfect for end-of-winter meals. 

3 clementines or tangerines

1 tablespoon chopped scallions

1 tablespoon chopped green pepper

1 tablespoon chopped red bell pepper

1 small avocado, chopped

Salt

Red pepper flakes

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons Sherry vinegar

Chopped parsley or cilantro 

Peel the clementines, cut them in half and cut into segments. Place them in a bowl. Add the scallions, green and red pepper and avocado. Season with salt and red pepper flakes to taste. Add oil and vinegar. Mix gently. Stir in chopped parsley. Serve the salad immediately or refrigerate, covered, up to 24 hours. 

More recipes using lemons:

Lemon-Roasted Chicken.

Chicken Tagine with Fresh Lemons.

Lemon-Mint Salad.

Lemon Ice Cream.

Lemon-Tonic Ice.

Herbal Lemonade.

Lemon Sangría with Botanicals.

More recipes with fresh anchovies:

Mixed Fish Fry.

Anchovies Marinated in Vinegar.

Anchovies in Bitter Orange Escabeche.

Vegetarian Fried "Anchovies".

Salad to accompany fried fish: Chopped Tomato Salad (Pipirrana)

WHEN LIFE GIVES YOU LEMONS---

An especially wet winter worked wonders for my lemon tree—it’s loaded with fruit. Right now the tree bears large, overripe lemons as well as small, green ones that will mature by the end of summer, plus fragrant blossoms presaging winter’s fruit. In other words, three crops of lemons in a year.

I use lemon juice and zest just about daily, because they are essential ingredients in Spanish cooking. Tangy lemon juice combined with olive oil, chopped garlic and parsley makes aliño, a dressing or marinade for meat, fish, vegetables. Milk scalded with lemon peel and cinnamon stick is the starting point for Spanish custards such as natillas and flan.

But, recipes using whole lemons are few and far between. Several years ago I made preserved lemons—they are put up in a strong brine—from a recipe in Paula Wolfert’s first-ever cookbook,  Couscous and Other Good Food from Morocco (Paula will soon come out with a completely updated edition of the Morocco book). But, I had more preserved lemons than I could use. 

Since then I’ve experimented with using quantities of fresh lemons, sliced or chopped, in a variety of dishes. Chopped lemon is especially good added to lentils as they cook, whether vegetarian or with sausage. I add wedges of lemon to lamb stew with a touch of honey to balance the tartness.

Inspired by a salad I discovered in La Mancha—moje de limones—with peeled and chopped lemons, scallions, black olives and olive oil, I add shrimp and avocado to make a sensational take on shrimp cocktail (the recipe is in my book COOKING FROM THE HEART OF SPAIN—FOOD OF LA MANCHA).

And, there’s always lemonade! A Basque version uses sliced whole lemons, white wine and sugar.

The dish I make over and over when lemons are abundant is lemon-roasted chicken. Chopped lemons, onions and tomatoes in the roasting pan beneath the bird cook up to almost a confit, bringing out the sweetness of the lemons as well as their tang. Couscous or steamed rice to soak up the lemony pan sauce makes a good side dish.

Lemon-Roasted Chicken 

Serves 6.

1 (4 ½-pound) roasting chicken
salt and pepper
1 large or 2 small lemons
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, quartered and sliced
1 tomato, chopped
2 cloves garlic, sliced
1 (2-inch) cinnamon stick
pinch of ground cumin
½ cup dry white wine 
1 zucchini (about 1 pound), cut in half crosswise and lengthwise


Preheat oven to 350ºF.

Sprinkle chicken inside and out with salt and pepper and allow to come to room temperature. Place 1 slice of lemon inside the chicken with bay leaf. Spread half of the oil in a roasting pan just large enough to hold the chicken.
   
Chop remaining lemon, discarding seeds, and spread in the bottom of the pan with the sliced onion, tomato, garlic, and cinnamon. Place the chicken  on top of chopped lemon and brush it with remaining oil. Sprinkle with cumin.
     
Roast the chicken, uncovered, for 45 minutes. Add the zucchini to the pan. Pour over the wine and cover the roasting pan (use a lid or foil). Roast until chicken is tender, about 1 hour longer. Remove the chicken and zucchini to a heated platter and allow to set for 15 minutes. Skim fat from roasting pan. Discard cinnamon stick. If most of liquid has cooked away, add a little water to the pan and scrape up the lemon and onion mixture. Serve it in a bowl alongside the chicken.