Preserved Lemons
lemons after one week
Preserved or pickled lemons are the essential ingredient for many Moroccan tagines and other ethnic specialties. I use these in sauces, salads, pastas, roasts and vegetables whenever I need an intense lemony flavor. You can buy them at fancy food stores for a pretty penny – but they are easy to make. The main ingredient is time, they must ferment at room temperature for weeks before using. Once fermented they’ll last for years in the refrigerator.
Here is the recipe I developed decades ago. I’ve been meaning to post it for a while because I can barely read my stained and faded chicken scratch.
Ingredients
5 small lemons – soft and thin skinned
5 cloves garlic, rough chop
3 shallots, julienne
1/3 cup kosher salt
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 bay leaf
pinch saffron
6 coriander seeds
4 black peppercorns
2 whole cloves
lemons after one year
Method
- Boil 2 quarts of water
- Add lemons and simmer 4 or 5 minutes until the skin becomes taught and fruit squishy.
- Cool lemons to room temperature
- Cut lemons into quarters (or sixths if large) and seed carefully so as not to crush the pulp
- Toss with remaining ingredients and pack into sterile screw top jars.
- Press the lemons down to make room for the remaining lemons.
- Add more lemon juice if needed to cover fruit completely.
- Keep at room temperature for a month, shaking the jar each day to distribute the salt and juice
- After one month they are ready to use. Move to refrigerator for long term storage.
Date: April 24, 2011
Categories: recipe