What kinds of recipes would one put zest in? Is it something that lends itself to experimentation, or is it best to put it in specific recipes that call for it?
Okay, here's my thoughts.
First off, anything that calls for any juice, I use fresh citrus but zest first. If the juice is for marinade, then I'll add the zest to the sauce (at the end, off heat).
Like I also mentioned, zesting is great in baking. Lemon zest and fresh reduced juice make the most amazing lemon cookies. With a sugar icing. Yum-yum!
Since you like salads, IDP, add zest to homemade dressings. For example, a mixed green salad topped with a couple of breaded and quickly fried goat cheese slices, chopped walnuts, and a dijon mustard-orange zest dressing, adding a few of the orange wedges to make it look perty.
I sprinkle zest on some meat dishes right on the plate, especially the slow roasted variety. Zest perks up meat. You could make a chimichurri sauce, or whatever flavors you like. Myself, my go-to flavor combo is fresh squeezed orange juice, orange zest and hoi-sin sauce, with other flavors varying by mood. But that orange/hoi-sin combo is great. Adding the zest to stir-frys at the end is also a great flavor enhancer. Frying up some small chicken pieces for orange chicken, not a bad choice, either.
But seriously, you can use zest in places you never thought they'd go. I put lemon zest in my twice baked potato: Lemon flavor but no liquid. I also love the Greek roasted lemon potatoes, except I punch it up at the end with the pre-zested lemon.
You want to kick up a bloody mary? Not only lemon and lime wedges, but a dusting of lemon and lime zest.
Using your basic red cocktail sauce for seafood, substitute (for lemon) lime and lime zest, along with adding some fresh chopped cilantro. Your shrimp will thank me later.
