Bright, yellow lemons just feel like spring. Grill lemon halves alongside chicken; use the zest in a marinade for leg of lamb; float thin slices in sparkling water; squeeze the juice over the season’s first asparagus.
Early spring also is a great time to cook up a batch of lemon curd. It’s easy to do and so versatile for everything from a pancake topping, spread over toast or swirled over vanilla ice cream for a refreshing sundae.
For Easter brunch, bright yellow lemon curd can be swirled into whipped cream and mascarpone for layering with lemon syrup-soaked ladyfingers for a bright, citrusy pudding. The mascarpone cream and ladyfingers prove reminiscent of tiramisu, sans the coffee and chocolate. This version reminds us of all the limoncello we enjoyed on Italy’s Amalfi Coast one spring vacation….