Lemons are one of those things that I use a lot of while we’re a home from our San Francisco Food Tour of North Beach\Little Italy and Chinatown. Whether it is chicken, vegetables, seafood or soup, they provide that brightness that perks up a dish. I’m one of those people that in addition to the lemon juice, I almost always add the lemon zest. I find that the lemon zest has even more lemon flavor than the juice. I like to add at the very end, so the flavor doesn’t get lost in the dish.
Lemon are a great basis for salad dressings, as well. Add some olive oil and some herbs and spices and it’s just right. Limes and oranges work great for salad dressings, as well. And just like lemon, the zest adds some great flavor.
On our San Francisco Food Tours, it’s always great to see how they take citrus fruits as a way liven up a dish. It turns up in everything from salad dressings in North Beach\Little Italy to seafood in Chinatown and North Beach\Little Italy, and of course in soups in both neighborhoods. And of course, they are basis of sauces in both places. And regardless where it is used, using fresh citrus fruit is incredibly important. And the result is that regardless of how it’s used, its’s delicious.
