Lavender's Green : Recipes using lemon curd, lime curd, preserved lemons, lemon cordial, lime cordial, roast lemon chutney and lemon lavender jelly

Butterflied Chicken with Preserved Lemons and Herbs.

So, like, what do you do with Preserved Lemons?
I’m just back from Vancouver where I’ve had an awesome week meeting with charming people in food retail and distribution. They were all fascinated by our beautiful Preserved Meyer lemons, yet constantly asked the question “what do you do with them?” (which is not an uncommon question in Australia and New Zealand too).
Here is a recipe that is easy, really tasty and perfectly answers the question. It was sent to us from a lovely New Zealand client who owns a gourmet butcher shop. She makes this marinade for their free range chickens which “fly out the door” (dreadful I know…). She read the recipe in Cuisine Magazine and it turns out our very good friend and favourite chef, Al Brown, wrote it

A butterflied chicken has the backbone removed and the chicken is flattened out. The cooking time is faster than for a traditional roast chicken. This recipe also works well with a deboned chicken – cooking time is quicker again (approximately 30 – 35 minutes)
Follow this link to see how easy it is to butterfly a chicken yourself – or you can ask your butcher to do this for you.

Marinade
Serves 4 – 6
1 x Butterflied Chicken (size 16)
1/2 cup Lavender’s Green Preserved Lemon – discard the flesh from the lemons and dice the skins finely.
1 cup curly parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped
1 teaspoon dried oregano
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoon honey
50 ml olive oil
50 ml grape seed oil
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon salt

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and massage over the chicken, pushing the marinade under the skin as well. Leave the chicken to marinate for a couple of hours or better still, overnight. Bring the chicken to room temperature before you start to cook it.
Roast in a shallow baking dish for 45 minutes at 220C. Watch it towards the end of the cooking time to see that the lemons are not burning.
Let the chicken rest for about five to ten minutes, depending on how hungry you are! I cover the chicken with grease proof paper then a few clean tea towels on top to keep it hot. Pour the juices from the pan into a small jug and let the family help themselves.
This is delicious served with creamy mashed potatoes and a favourite green vegetable.

Simple, everyday uses for all of our products – email us and we will send you many more tips and recipes on our special “How to Use” cards for each product.

Lemon Curd or Lime Curd

• Add a dollop to your Greek style yoghurt and serve with breakfast
• Drizzled on meringues with cream and berries
• Mixed with equal quantities of mascarpone or whipped cream and serve in pastry case, topped with grated chocolate, berries or meringue

Preserved Lemons

Traditionally only the skins are used, while the flesh is discarded.
• Finely dice and mix through creamy mashed potatoes
• Slice and dice to use in stuffing for turkey, lamb or chicken
• Dice and fork through basmati rice or couscous

Lemon Cordial or Lime Cordial

• Serve with sparkling water (we prefer antipodes for its purity and soft bubbles) to create a lemon/lime spritzer
• Mix neat with vodka, gin, brandy or tequila, with tonic or soda
• Add to your favourite lager and watch the cricket or tennis on the lawn
• Make a slushy for the kids by double concentrating the solution with water, freeze for about two hours and then break up the mixture with a fork and refreeze. Repeat until it resembles a slurpee and enjoy on a boiling hot day in the shade with your favourite child

Roast Lemon Chutney

• As an accompaniment to butter chicken curry
• Fabulous served with roast beef, cold meats and sausages
• Serve with crostini and a creamy camembert or vintage cheddar and pour yourself a chardonnay
• For a dead easy but sophisticated dinner, take one chicken breast per person, almost cut in half horizontally and slather cream cheese and Roast Lemon Chutney in the cavity. Wrap breast with streaky bacon and roast in a 160C oven for 20-25 minutes

Lemon Mustard

• Add to mashed potatoes when you add milk/cream and butter
• Slather roasted or barbequed meat with Lemon Mustard while it rests
• Make a sandwich spread by adding to aioli or mayonnaise – particularly when making a ham or cheese sandwich
• Add to a cheese sauce – yum!

Lemon & Lavender Jelly

• Smother your pikelet or scone or toast with Lemon & Lavender Jelly, plus a dollop of cream
• Toss pan-fried and then thinly sliced Duck breast with a large tablespoon of the jelly and mix with juices from the meat – perfect! Serve on the side also.
• Serve as accompaniment to roast pork, lamb, turkey or venison – its tartness cuts the richness of the roasted meats.

Lavender's Green Ltd : Underhill Road, RD3 Featherston, Wairarapa : Phone: + 64 6 308 8319 : Fax: + 64 6 308 8219 : Email: office@lavendersgreen.co.nz
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