Lemon Sherbet Granita, Olive Oil Relish & Honey-Orange Blossom Sabayon

Lemon Sherbet Granita, white fig-golden raisin-preserved lemon-fennel seed-roasted candied fennel-arbequina olive oil relish, honey & orange blossom sabayon.

I love lemons. Lemony lemon lemonness.

But so few lemon desserts are everything I love about lemons.

too many hide the lemon's trickier sides ~ its bitter skin oil, it's catch-you-in-the back-of-your-throat-&-attack-your-eardrums kinda sour.

its pucker.

Not me. Not mine. I love love love me some citrus. I have been known to have a not-so-secret love affair with these orbs of sunshiny autumn leaf colored palette of tight pored shiny skin and segments of closely bound pressed droplets of juice.

mmmmmmm citrus.

acid.

perfume.

wet.

juicy.

thick, waxy, smooth, dense, Irish-Green leaves.

infusable blossoms.

citrus.

need I say more?

so when I began planning a winter dessert menu. I need not have looked further than this multi-shaped family of fantastic fruits.

{hey, I'm not the only chef smitten. David Kinch does an entire many coursed menu paying homage to rare & intriguing, beguiling citrus.}

When I come up with a dessert I think of one flavor. Then I close my eyes and think about what other flavors I want to have with that one lead.

I begin thinking about textures, about temperatures.

I write lists.

I consult my foundation component recipes. They may lead me to themselves, like an unplanned walk in London, or they may lead me to another idea, at which point I write a recipe as I move through weights & methods.

But a plated dessert needs composition. Arranging. Foreground, lead singer, front flavor, primary focus, shading, burning & dodging, cropping, sanding, priming, dress rehearsal, reading the play aloud, auditioning-- these are all metaphors, tools, for creating a composed; a plated dessert.

Because a film has to have a leading actor, because a band a signature style, because a company needs a vision, because a community-- a heart, because a structure needs walls before a roof, a plated dessert needs a thought process.

sometimes it takes plating it a few dozen, or hundred times, to get it just right.

sometimes a plated dessert will lead you, with its ingredients, its parts, to a shape, a vessel, a molding tool.
sometimes I have to ask for help. lay out all my mis en place, like paragraphs, and re-arrange them to fit the narrative.

and then you have to think about portioning. how much of this component leads you to eat that component? what overpowers what? who speaks first, who waits their turn, who interrupts, who acts like a cowboy, who is the wallflower, who can't whisper low enough?

and the crazy thing?

you'll never get it right.

Just Right.

you will always be tweaking. in your head. you will move the couch, centimeter by centimeter, and still feel like the Princess & The Pea.

This dessert may sound familiar to you. Yeah, I like these flavors together. I find I need to keep working on a dessert, job after job, kitchen after kitchen, menu after menu, season after season, in order to get it there. or get it out of my system. like the person you continue to sleep with long after the break up. or the wine you continue to drink long past the point of pleasure into drunkenness. or the record you wear out because you love it. to death.

or

you wear that sweater until it falls apart, and then you start wearing it to bed.

it's not about judgment. it's about attraction.

and then you might move on. or take it out when winter comes around again.

This is my favorite dessert on the menu. I know it's a little esoteric for the average person, but out of 3 desserts on offer for New Year's Eve, it sold neck in neck with the chocolate offering. If you make it in while it's on the menu, I'd love to know your thoughts.

Comments

[Rachel]

Seriously, Shuna, you never cease to amaze me. I'm so happy to know that you are back in the states at a restaurant that is within walking distance of my sister's apartment. Next time I'm in NYC, I'll definetley be stopping in. Happy New Year.

[katrina hall]

Wowser - that's a beauty.

[Jenny]

Wow, how complex and interesting!

My favorite lemon dessert is the pierre herme lemon tart. I'm very simple in my tastes, I guess and I have trouble with savory elements in desserts.

[Tracy]

I wanted to taste it as soon as I finished reading your article!

[kthln]

Yummmmm! My mouth is watering!

[Dr. Biggles]

OoOoOOoOo, citrus! I think I'm going to shave me a lemon and stick the zested strips up my nose. I'm a citrus fueled meat monster! ROWR !!!

How's yer back doing today?

xo, Biggles

Biggles!! You make me feel all warm inside when you comment. My back really sucks. it's too bad we need a spine or else I might have asked you to come east & butcher it out. I know you're knives are the sharpest... xoxox shuna

[Hilda]

Shuna, this made me smile so much. Citrus: I'm Persian you know, it's in the DNA. I would have been one of the customers getting this instead of chocolate on NYE. The only ones I don't really like are Meyer lemons because they're not tart/sour enough for me. I need the tartness, bring it.

[Nancy Gail Ring]

I sometimes eat fresh lemons so I'm the right person for this dessert for sure. It looks fabulous. My favorite lemon bar recipe is the kind that makes some people squinch up their faces upon eating it. What good is citrus at all if it doesn't "attack the ear drums?"