What to do with a lot of lemon or lime zest?
I still remember years ago when I attended the vegetarian summer fest and Dr. Michael Greger admonished us (his audience) for regularly throwing away the healthiest part of the lemon—the zest. So now I try to remember to zest my lemons (or other citrus, as long as I bought organic) before I juice them. But what do you do with all that zest?
My Mom had to pick all her Meyer lemons this weekend because they’re expecting a freeze . She asked me for ideas on how to use the zest. Here are my ideas for what to do when you have a lot of lemon or lime zest to use up. Anyone else have great ideas I’m missing?
Desserts:
Soup:
Pasta:
- with brussels sprouts, rosemary, and apple
- with chard and olives
- in pasta primavera or some other spring-inspired pasta
Bean, lentil, or grain dishes:
- lemon mint lentil potato ragout
- patties, like veggie burgers, these chickpea burgers, or grain pancakes, like these rice and sesame pancakes
Vegetable dishes:
- With escarole, like this wilted-escarole-with-garlic-and-lemon-c/
- With zucchini, either shredded or raw
- With sweet potatoes, in lemon ginger tsimmes or key lime sweet potatoes
- Or even in a gratin
Egg dishes:
- I love lots of lime or lemon zest in this broccoli feta frittata
Other ideas:
- maybe add lemon zest to a smoothie? with bee pollen and frozen pineapple? or lime zest with coconut milk, spinach, and mango?
The captious vegetarian 
Andrea said,
November 19, 2018 at 9:26 pm
Idea 1: Lemon granola. Our lemon granola with bee pollen was my favourite from the batches we made together! I think lemon granola bars with cranberries and cashews would make a great to-go breakfast or a snack.
Idea 2: I know that orange zest goes really well with green cardamom in kulfi. I think lemon or lime kulfi would work great, too. What do you think?