A Liquid Sunshine Vinaigrette

By Abbye Churchill, the Founder of Rhea

Liquid Sunshine is a preserved lemon crush made from salt preserved lemons that are aged for months before being turned into a crushed paste. There are very subtle notes of cumin, chili, peppercorn, coriander, and bay, but it is versatile enough to adapt to almost any cooking style.

Good uses for this are as an addition to a vinaigrette or marinade, to finish fish or poultry dishes, folded into yogurt and served with middle eastern dishes, in grain bowls, over roasted broccoli, stirred into summer pasta dishes or on top of grilled zucchini with chili and mint, mixed into fresh herb salsa verde... honestly anywhere you use lemon zest would be appropriate.

It could also replace an olive in a dirty martini!  If you're just getting into cooking or love batch cooking, I would try roasting some on unsalted veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, potatoes, sweet potatoes, even fennel). When you take them out of the oven, drizzle with olive oil and toss with a spoonful of Liquid Sunshine. A spoonful in tuna or pasta salad would also be great!

 

Here's a quick recipe for vinaigrette:

Mix 2 parts olive oil with 1 part lemon juice, zest from 1 lemon and 1 spoonful of Liquid Sunshine.

Great to use as a salad dressing, drizzled on roasted veggies, chicken, or fish!

 

Photo credit: Johnny Miller for The New York Times