Learn about growing a dwarf Meyer lemon tree and using the lemons to make a Meyer lemon pasta with shrimp, spinach, and feta cheese.
For Christmas one year, my husband bought me a dwarf Meyer lemon tree. It arrived in a 10" blue pot and in a short time had many flowers on it. They smelled heavenly. These flowers turned into lemons and by October I ended up have 13 ripe lemons. One dish I made with them was a delicious easy pasta with the juice and zest of the lemon, shrimp, spinach, and feta cheese.
Here are some pictures of the lemon tree. It's a pretty good producer and did you know that the flowers are self-pollinating? This means you don't have to rely on insects or both with hand pollination.
This tree stays inside under a grow light until early summer when it is relocated to the back patio In the fall when the night-time temperatures got below 50 degrees I bring it back indoors. I water it well once a week with a citrus tree fertilizer and by well I mean I use an entire watering can go around and water other plants, and repeat. So far so good.
What is a Meyer Lemon?
A Meyer lemon is a cross between a regular lemon and a mandarin orange. Typically they are smaller than regular lemons and their rinds are thinner. They taste much like a regular lemon but are a little sweeter and less acidic tasting. Though you can find lemons in the grocery year-round, Meyer lemons are seasonal and usually found in late winter through early spring.
Now for the pasta. I used thin spaghetti but any type of pasta will do. I think lemon goes really well with seafood, and I knew I wanted to add some vegetables and cheese. I picked baby spinach and my husband requested feta.
For an added punch I added the zest of the entire lemon on top of the pasta before serving. If you love any kind of citrus you definitely need to try using the zest of the rind. It has the strongest citrus flavor and will really give your dish a tasty punch.
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It turned out great. Very light, refreshing, and satisfying.
More Meyer Lemon Recipes
Meyer Lemon Pasta with Shrimp, Spinach & Feta
Ingredients
- 1 pound spaghetti
- 1 pound of frozen cooked shrimp - thawed and drained
- 1 bag of fresh baby spinach leaves
- 4 oz of feta cheese
- 2 cloves of garlic - grated or crushed
- Juice of 1 meyer lemon
- Zest of 1 meyer lemon
Instructions
- This is a quick one so you want to get your pasta boiling before you start the sauce.
- Saute the garlic in a couple of tablespoon of olive oil on medium heat in a large saute pan,being careful not to burn it.
- Add the spinach and stir for about 1-2 minutes until is begins to wilt
- Add the shrimp and lemon juice and cook for another minute or two to warm up the shrimp.
- Turn heat to low and add cooked pasta along with some of the pasta water.
- Stir until combined.
- Remove from heat and stir in the feta and lemon zest and serve.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although attempts have been made to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.
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