I follow a LOT of food blogs. Since I'm up at odd hours feeding Luke, I spend a lot of time reading about unusual things like preserved lemons at 3:00 am. Lately, I've read about preserved lemons on at least 5 or 6 different blogs... a trend?
I wasn't entirely sure what one does with them until I read Use Real Butter's Moroccan chickpea butternut squash stew... with preserved lemon. That sealed the deal. Well, that, and finding Meyer lemons on sale at PCC!
I found a few recipes online for preserved lemons. It seemed pretty straightforward. It is important to buy organic lemons, however, because you'll eventually be eating the peel. No sense in consuming more pesticides than necessary, right?
After washing the lemons, trim off the ends. This project smells delicious!
Gather your salt! I had both rock salt and sea salt. I used both, for no other reason than because rock salt is pretty. I think any salt will do, though. (This project also lets you know if you have any cuts on your hands.)
Slice each lemon in quarters without cutting through the base. (It's prettier this way.) Then sprinkle salt on the tops, and inside the lemon.
Then, after sprinkling a layer of salt in the bottom of the jar, cram the lemons in. Sprinkle layers of salt in as you go. I estimate that I used about a half cup of salt.
Then, squeeze several lemons worth of juice into the jar. Don't worry about the seeds. The juice is supposed to cover the lemons. Seal the jar, and let sit out for three days. I gave it a gentle shake every time I walked by the jar. After three days, stick it in the fridge.
My jar has been sitting in the fridge for about two weeks, and they'll be ready to use in another two weeks! I've been plotting more recipes to use with them- has anyone else cooked with preserved lemon?
This looks AWESOME! I've heard about these lemons, but have never made them/cooked with them. They look so cool. I wonder if you can use Meyer lemons? I have some in my fridge and I'm not sure what to make with them....
ReplyDeleteI used Meyer lemons! I think you could preserve lemons on a smaller scale- just preserve one or two, as long as you have enough juice to cover them. If your lemons are organic- you could zest them and use Smitten Kitchen's stellar yogurt cake recipe: http://smittenkitchen.com/2010/04/lime-yogurt-cake-with-blackberry-sauce/ (Meyer lemons would ROCK this. I usually add poppyseeds which give it a fun crunch.)
DeleteMoroccan stew for sure. Salmon is great with preserved lemons. Cheesecake I've had (but haven't made). They could be an interesting twist on hummus. Send me some!
ReplyDeleteJP
Hi Jordan! Stephanie Gilbert just sent me the link to your blog, and I've had an enjoyable read thus far. I had to stop here and comment, because I have a jar of lemons fermenting happily away as well - I'm on day 4, so it'll be a a while before I am experimenting with them, but...check out the Eating from the Ground Up blog - she has some really interesting recipes for using up preserved lemon: http://www.eatingfromthegroundup.com/.
ReplyDeleteNow I'll continue enjoying your blog with my morning coffee! Wander this way if you want to see what I am serving up in Finland: http://www.eatingfromthegroundup.com/
Ann