THE GOLDEN LEMON

Lemon-lovers like the authors may linger over this collection of recipes using the juice, the zest, or the slice for flavoring, whether prominent (lemon caper sauce), hidden (gingered lemon cookies), or complementary (chilled cream of leek soup). Lutece chef Soltner has contributed an elegant almond lemon tart, but most of the inclusions require less exacting preparation. In many recipes, the lemon is used as traditional accompaniment--to mushrooms, salmon or striped bass, a variety of veal dishes, and vegetables, often with dill or shallots. For others, one must be open to experimentation, trying lemon in a lamb stew stock or as a glaze, with vodka, on parsnips. (And we have strong doubts about a lemon veal loaf requiring ground pork fat.) Wine and rest-of-meal suggestions appear, and two pertinent facts are mentioned in passing: room-temperature lemons give more juice than cold ones, and small lemons usually have fewer seeds. Citric-centric.