Lemon + Eggs

It turns out that I have a bit of an obsession with lemons. I often catch myself salivating over the idea of their tangy, juicy, sourness - many times day. They are also part of what I like to admit is my only consistent daily routine - a glass of lemon juice with warm water first thing in the morning. You may have also noticed that lemons (the Meyer variety), featured only two food journal entries ago. Well, here they are again. Making yet another appearance. This time however, they are accompanied by their good friend, the egg.

The eggs we buy are from a small organic store here in Riverside. I go there especially for the eggs and honey. Both local, both from happy farms. The eggs come in a carton of 2o (I know!) are free range (always) and are often so big that they bear two yolks instead of one. Double bunger!! -- as my dad would say.

The recipes this week kind of happened by accident. I was making breakfast one morning, I felt like mushrooms on toast. This turned into mushrooms, kale, lemon, thyme and egg - without the toast.

Mushroom Kale Lemon Thyme Egg

prep time: 5 minutes
cook time: 10 minutes
total time: 15 minutes
yields: 1 serving

2 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, finely sliced
1 cup chopped mushrooms
leaves from 2 small thyme sprigs
1 cup chopped kale
zest and juice of half a lemon
salt and pepper
1 egg
manchego cheese (you can also use parmesan if you prefer)

Heat olive oil in a medium pan, over medium heat. Add garlic, mushrooms and thyme. Allow to cook for 5 minutes, or until mushrooms soften. Add lemon zest, lemon juice, kale and salt and pepper to taste . Toss everything together, lower the heat and continue to cook for another 5 minutes. Meanwhile, fry or poach the egg to your liking.

Place mushroom mixture on plate, top with the egg and grate over some manchego cheese and some extra fresh ground pepper.

The second lemon and egg recipe happened because I had some egg yolks left over from baking a cake for a friends birthday. What goes well with egg yolks? Lemons. Enter, lemon curd. It goes well with fresh bread, can be made into tarts, used in cakes or eaten straight from the jar...

Lemon Curd

prep time: 5 minutes
cook time: 15 minutes
total time: 20 minutes

4 large egg yolks
1/2 cup of sugar
juice of 1 lemon (about 1/3 cup)
zest of 1 lemon (see first step for an easy zesting tip)
6 tbsp butter, chopped at room temperature 

Peel the zest from the lemon using a peeler, being careful to avoid the white pith. Combine the sugar and zest in a food processor and blitz until the zest is finely chopped and mixed in with the sugar. Alternatively, grate the zest or use a lemon zester.

Fill a medium saucepan with a small amount of water and bring it to a simmer over high heat; reduce the heat to low and keep the water at a bare simmer.

Place all of the ingredients except the butter in a large heatproof bowl and whisk to combine. Place the bowl over the saucepan, making sure that it doesn't touch the water and whisk constantly until the yolks thicken and the mixture forms ribbons when the whisk is lifted from the bowl. Be patient, it will take about 7 to 10 minutes.

Remove the bowl from the saucepan and whisk in the butter one piece at a time. Once all the butter has been incorporated, place a piece of cling wrap/ plastic wrap over the top of the curd to stop it forming a skin and let it sit and cool to room temperature. Once cooled, pour into jars and refrigerate for up to 10 days.