When life gives you lemons.....make pasta

By Kady Guyton
January 12, 2009

Lemon linguini with cream. Click for larger image.

I visited a friend this weekend who has a tendency towards gardening. We had a great time together and I was getting ready to leave, she casually mentioned that I should grab a few lemons off the tree in her backyard.

Never one to turn down free produce, I grabbed a bag and headed outside where I came face to face with a Meyer lemon tree in all its glory. I have to admit that this was my first encounter with Meyer lemons. Once home, I spent some time looking up recipes and information about the best way to showcase this fruit.

Lemons are a staple in most Mediterranean cooking ranging from French and Italian to North African and the Middle East. Meyer lemons, on the other hand, are all American. The original lemon is native to China and is believed to be a hybrid of a mandarin orange and a lemon - giving the Meyer its distinctive round shape and sweetness. In 1908 an employee of the United States Agricultural Department named Frank Meyer brought the first cutting to the United States. (Having a fruit tree named after you has to be one of the better legacies a person can leave behind.)

The trees did quite well and grow all over California and the southern part of the United States. In the mid 1940s, Meyers were found to be hosting a virus that was dangerous to all citrus trees. As a result, Meyers were pulled up where ever they were found. In the 1950s a virus-free breed of tree was created in California and released to the public. It's known as the "Improved Meyer lemon" and the majority of trees growing today are of this type.

Already being in possession of several excellent recipes for lemon desserts, I went down the savory path and was quite happy with my options. Preserving lemons sounds intriguing and I plan to give it a try as soon as I find a jar big enough to hold a few. In the meantime, I settled on making a batch of rosemary lemon salt and whipping up a plate of lemon linguine.

The lemon linguine is basically pasta carbonara with lemon in place of bacon. Freshly grated parmesan is the key here. You can try to cheat with the dried stuff in a can, but no one will love you for it. The heat from the pasta cooks the egg yolks, so no worries about raw egg.

If you find yourself with a bumper crop of Meyer lemons on your hands, remember that they can used is place of regular lemons in any recipe. They also substitute well for oranges. The zest and juice can be frozen and used for up to a year. Or in a pinch, send them to me.

Meyer Lemon-Rosemary Salt
Makes slightly over 2 cups
2 cups kosher or coarse sea salt
6-8 large sprigs of rosemary, washed and dried
3 large Meyer lemons, preferably organic, washed and dried

Place the salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pull the leaves off the rosemary and zest the lemons, and add both to the salt. Pulse until the rosemary and zest have been minced finely but not pulverized.

Store in clean jars with tight-fitting lids. Use to finish vegetables or fresh greens.

Lemon Linguine
1 1/2 pounds dried linguine or other skinny noodle
2 egg yolks
3 Tablespoon fresh grated parmesan, plus more to pass
1/2 cup heavy cream
Zest and juice of 1 Meyer lemon
1 Tablespoon butter
Fresh chopped parsley for garnish.

Boil pasta in a pot of boiling, salted water.

In a bowl, beat egg yolks, parmesan, cream, lemon zest and juice until just combined.

When pasta is cooked, drain and return to pan. Add butter and toss so all the strands are coated. Add most of the sauce and continue tossing. Either move pasta to serving bowl or leave in pan. Add the rest of the sauce.

Top with parsley, serve with extra cheese on the side.