You all know that I love me some preserving. Let me turn some fruits into jam or pickle some vegetables and I’m a happy camper. I’m particularly happy when I get to crack open a jar of preserved peaches in February.
A few (ok, many) months ago the folks at Thomas Allen gave me a copy of Mourad Lahlou’s cookbook, . The recipes looked delicious but many of them required preserved lemons. Now living in Toronto (at the time), finding preserved lemons should be a breeze but I’m always worried about what people put in products to preserve them. Luckily Lahlou’s cookbook has a dead simple recipe for preserved lemons.
The ingredients: lemons and salt.
Easy.
The hardest part was finding a jar to make this in. In a perfect world I would’ve used unwaxed, organic lemons but out of sheer laziness I bought regular lemons and scrubbed them very well to remove the yucky stuff on the outside.
After a few weeks the lemons turned out as expected. Soft but with a gentle firmness and the zest and pith’s bitterness had been toned down significantly. So far I’ve used the lemons in dressings and as part of tagine to great results. Unfortunately the jar sits at the back of my fridge and I forget to randomly add it to new dishes. That will happen… soon.
Now that I’m in Chicago and without my stash of preserved lemons I’m totally missing them. Especially since more than a few recipes in my Ottolenghi cookbooks require preserved lemons. It may be time to whip up another batch.
Any thoughts on what else I can do with preserved lemons?
Preserved Lemons
The Process:
About 6 lemons for juicing
About 6 lemons for preserving
About a 1/2 cup kosher salt
First, thoroughly scrub and rinse your lemons. This is an instance when you really want an organic, or at least unsprayed, lemon.
Next, slice one half of your lemons into quarters. Place the first four quarters in the bottom of the jar, flesh side up. Sprinkle with one or two tablespoons sea salt – be generous.
Continue with one set of lemon quarters followed by one or two tablespoon sea salt.
Once the jar is packed with lemons, squeeze the remaining lemons to fill the jar with juice.
Let sit for at least one month before use.
Recipe via Mourad Lahlou’s cookbook,
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