Asselin Marie - Simply Citrus

Simply
citrus

Marie Asselin

Photographs by Catherine Ct

Simply citrus

Digital Edition 1.0

Text 2018 Marie Asselin

Photographs 2018 Catherine Ct

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced by any means whatsoever without written permission from the publisher, except brief portions quoted for purpose of review.

Gibbs Smith

P.O. Box 667

Layton, Utah 84041

Orders: 1.800.835.4993

www.gibbs-smith.com

ISBN: 978-1-4236-4814-7

To my maman, Rjeane,
who raised me on delicious home-cooked meals.
Thank you for letting me snip fresh herbs,
crack eggs, and lick batters.
You not only gave me life and unconditional love,
but you also gave roots to my future career.
Je taime!

I will forever be grateful to my editor, Kerry McShane, who spotted me on Instagram and offered me the chance to publish my first book. Im sure Ill always look back on the day we met in Qubec City as a pivotal moment in my career. Thank you for cheering for me along the way.

Thank you to Michelle Branson, editor and head of the cookbook team at Gibbs Smith. Meeting you in person was a gift: it confirmed I was in good hands. Im honored that you trusted this French-Canadian food lover to carry out your citrus book project.

Heartfelt thanks to my recipe testers: Isabelle, Marie-Andre, Elisabeth, Fanny, Marisa, Nicoletta and Loreto, Lindsey, Paula, Carlin, Sarah, Tania, Brona, Sabrina, and Kelly. Your honest and enthusiastic feedback was key to bringing this book as close to perfection as it could be.

An additional thank you to my pro recipe tester, chemist-turned-baker Janice Lawandi, for helping me tweak my dessert recipes. Your knowledge and tips not only made the book better but allowed me to learn new things along the way.

Thank you to my close friends, who were so unbelievably supportive and understanding as I momentarily disappeared from their life while writing this book. Thanks for helping us empty the fridge and freezer when we needed it, too!

Thank you to my parents, Jean-Luc and Rjeane, for always believing in me, no matter what. Mom, it was lovely to have you as an assistant when I was in the weeds testing the recipes. Dad, I appreciated your dishwashing stints, too!

Thank you to the talented photographer who shot this book, Catherine Ct. Catherine, I feel like we still have so much work to do together. We're just getting started!

Last but not least, Ill forever be grateful for the unconditional love and support of the guy whos been sharing my life for over 15 years. Eric, youre the kindest, most generous person I know. You help me become a better person, every day. And kisses to Jules, my son, the light of my life. Im addicted to seeing your happy, grateful face as you enjoy the food I prepare for you. I look forward to cooking and baking with you for many years to come.

I live in a Northern city where winters are cold and snowy and longvery long. Every year, at the start of the white-clad season, I eagerly survey the arrival of seasonal citrus fruits, which I then rely on to brighten my days. The simple acts of peeling a clementine or shaking a zesty cocktail will unfailingly lift my mood and keep me going.

I can trace the birth of my love for citrus to lemon meringue pie, which is one of the first desserts I started fully making on my own. It was not the typical super-sweet kids treat, and I remember how sophisticated it felt to bite into that tart yellow filling. Licking the bowl of fluffy meringue also made me feel ridiculously happy, and it still does to this day.

Later in life, I grew an inexhaustible passion for food that would fuel all my projects, both professional and personal. I cooked and baked on a daily basis. When friends asked for my recipes, they would remark that my food had a spark that made it stand out. After a while, I realized that the spark came from citrus fruits: I used lots of lemons, limes, and oranges, both in savory and sweet dishes. If a recipe included citrus juice or zest, Id double or triple the amounts requested. That simple tweak made the result exciting and bright. Citrus fruits were my secret tools, and my fascination with them only kept on growing.

It feels natural, then, that my first cookbook would be about citrus fruits. Ive gathered easy savory and sweet recipes that put citrus fruits front and center. Not just a drizzle of juice here or a grating of zest there. Rather, these are full-on, citrus-forward recipes that prove that lemons, limes, oranges, and their cousins can play a starring role rather than a supporting one.

Citrus fruits are incredibly versatile, and I believe they should occupy a year-round prime spot in your cooking. I hope my recipes encourage you to fill up your kitchen with bright yellow, green, and orange fruits. If you do, your cooking will never be dull again.

For additional information and recipes, visit my blog FoodNouveau.com.

Ingredient Tips

Citrus Fruits

Most of the recipes in this book use citrus fruits you can readily find in supermarkets. Some dishes call for specific varieties, such as Meyer lemons or Key limes, or specialty products, such as orange blossom water, but if you cant find those, I provide substitution recommendations. There exists an incredible number of citrus fruit varieties, but my goal was not to send you on a quest to find rare ingredients. Rather, I want to enable you to make all of this books recipes year-round.

Organic citrus fruits can be expensive, but I strongly encourage you to buy them for recipes that use whole fruit, or a significant quantity of zest or peel. Organic citrus fruits are untreated and unwaxed, which makes them tastier and safer to eat. If you choose regular fruits, make sure to scrub them thoroughly to remove pesticides and wax before using.

Its useful to know how much juice and zest an average citrus fruit produces. The amount can vary widely according to the season and the fruits freshness and origin. For that reason, recipes feature both the volume quantity and the approximate number of citrus fruits required. For your general reference:

1 average lemon = 1/4 cup juice = 1 tablespoon zest

1 average lime = 2 tablespoons juice = 2 teaspoons zest

1 average orange = 1/2 cup juice = 2 tablespoons zest

1 average mandarin = 1/4 cup juice = 1 tablespoon zest

1 average clementine = 2 tablespoons juice = 2 teaspoons zest

1 average grapefruit = 1 cup juice = 1/4 cup zest

Salt

My recipes all use fine kosher salt, which has a much softer and subtle flavor than regular table salt. The brand Ive been using for years is Diamond Crystal, but there are several other brands on the market. If you cant find kosher salt, you can substitute fine sea salt.

As a garnish, I like to use coarse sea salt or sea salt flakes, such as Fleur de Sel de Gurande and Maldon.

Sugar

I only use organic unrefined cane sugar in desserts. I find it has a mellower flavor and contributes to the taste of a dish. The recipes in this book call for granulated sugar for the sake of simplicity, but you can use unrefined cane sugar or regular granulated white sugar interchangeably.