This week's
Craving Ellie in My Belly recipe is Saffron Chicken, Lemon, and Green Bean Salad, chosen by Sarah of
Sarah's Kitchen Adventures. I'm so glad I was tasked with making this salad; I've read over the recipe in Ellie's book so many times, but never mustered up enough courage to go for it.
You may ask me why I would need courage for this particular salad; it sounds perfectly normal and innocent by the title, right? But don't be fooled; the lemon in the salad is actual chunks of boiled, cooled, diced lemon rind! As you can see in the photo below, the lemon becomes an essential ingredient in the salad itself, rather than simply being a part of the salad dressing (which it is, too, of course).
Now, I felt slightly silly taking a whole lemon, scrubbing its waxy outer coating, stabbing it with a fork several times, and sticking it in a pot of boiling water for close to an hour. But that's exactly what I did. I mean, if I can't trust Ellie by now, something's wrong. She's barely ever steered me wrong; I wasn't (too) worried.
Well, she was right. Again. This salad is nothing short of spectacular! Along with the crisp, snappy fresh green beans, fresh thyme, saffron-laced chicken, and the tart/sweet dressing, the lemon rind was totally tender, intoxicatingly fragrant, and actually, amazingly, tasty! So even though this may sound like quite an unconventional ingredient preparation, I promise you that it is worth a try. Don't be afraid; the results are fresh, exciting, and very delicious!
Posts
Oh, I just love learning new techniques! This one sounds especially wonderful as I love anything LEMON!! I will put this on the schedule for the weekend, sounds like a great lunch to me for Mark and I either Saturday or Sunday. Yours looks just wonderful!
ReplyDeleteI am so glad you liked it! I thought it was so delicious too! Thanks for cooking along with me!
ReplyDelete