Recipes

How to prepare citronette

Citronette

Oil, salt and lemon juice: there is nothing simpler and tastier than preparing an excellent citronette to dress your salad.

When it comes to dressing salads, whether due to laziness, lack of imagination or time, we always end up falling back on the classic oil and vinegar. In reality, with just a few ingredients it is possible to prepare an excellent citronette based on oil, salt and lemon juice .

Curious to find out how to prepare an excellent citronette quickly and easily? We then have some variations to offer you and a gem on the history of this emulsion: did you know that it is just a variant and the original recipe is the vinaigrette?!?

How to prepare the citronette recipe

Start by squeezing the juice from the lemon and placing it in a jar with high edges or in a bowl.
Also add the oil , salt and chopped pepper to taste.
Use the immersion blender to emulsify the two liquids, otherwise if you have used a bowl, use an electric whisk (a hand mixer or a fork is also fine).
Use the freshly prepared lemonade to dress your salad or cooked vegetables!

Alternatively, here's a trick to prepare the emulsion in an instant: the quickest way to prepare any citronette effortlessly is to use a glass jar with a cap . In this way, by placing all the ingredients inside and shaking, you will obtain a perfect emulsion!

In short, you will no longer have excuses to dress the salad in new ways !

The variations of the citronette

If you want, you can customize this condiment with other ingredients, replacing the basic acid part, or in addition to obtain a richer and more complex aroma and flavour. And here are some tested examples to try:

Citronette plus zest . Add a little grated lemon zest to give the emulsion an even stronger boost.
Citronette plus fresh chopped parsley . Here is a variant that pairs perfectly with fish and is very similar to a sauce of Calabrian/Sicilian origin, salmoriglio .
Oil and orange juice . It's no longer called citronette, but orangette. It is made exactly like the lemon emulsion but replacing the citrus juice. You can also add grated zest if you like.
Citronette plus mustard . To give a spicy boost to the dressing, add 2 teaspoons of mustard.

What is the difference between citronette and vinaigrette

The most famous emulsion together with citronette is certainly the vinaigrette. But how does it differ? In the acid part and in the relationship between this and the extra virgin olive oil.

If to prepare the citronette you use 1 part of lemon juice and 1.5 parts of extra virgin olive oil, in the case of the vinaigrette you will have to use 1 part of white wine vinegar and 3 parts of extra virgin olive oil.

The first is used above all as a condiment for white meats and fish , but also to dress salads and vegetables which will then be cooked on the grill or in the oven. The vinaigrette, on the other hand, is more versatile : certainly more suitable for meat, you shouldn't disdain it even in fish marinades. Furthermore, it is also perfect combined with raw vegetables as a dip .

storage

The citronette can be stored in the refrigerator for 2 or 3 days in a jar with a suitable lid. We do not recommend freezing in the freezer.

Origin of the emulsion with oil and lemon

In reality the citronette is, in turn, a variant. The main recipe is vinaigrette , also of French origin.

The name vinaigrette derives from a small glass or porcelain container , without a cap, usually decorated, intended to contain a cotton ball soaked in aromatic vinegar. The function of the vinaigrette was to recover from a sudden fainting , by bringing the wad soaked in vinegar close to the nostrils. The seasoning we use today retains the intense aroma, always given by the vinegar.

Dating the birth of this emulsion seems to be impossible , however the variant with lemon arrived shortly after, being so easy and more pleasant on the palate according to many.