Preserved lemons

[len_p]

I have come to appreciate very much lately the preserved lemons recipes. Here is how to make preserved lemons:

take a lemon, cut it almost in half, but leave the 2 parts joint. Do the same think on a perpendicular direction. This will leave you a lemon cut in 4 pieces but still tied together by the lemon skin.
add as much salt as possible
put in a glass jar which has a way to seal the content (like a metal cap)
prepare other lemons in the same way and put them in the glass jar (as much lemons as it can fit). I managed to fit 6 lemons in a 1l glass jar.
add lemon juice (from other lemons) until all the lemons in the jar are immersed
add some extra salt
fit the cap and seal the jar
each 1-2 days for about a weak add more salt (this is one step I forgot)
leave in a dry, cool and dark place for 4-6 weeks.

 

[ironchef]

I love using preserved lemons as well. It gives a nice flavor and added dimension to certain dishes that people can't quite figure out. I've used it on dishes like braised chicken, but also on the other spectrum of dishes like raw oysters, and raw seafood crudos.

 

[len_p]

Preserved lemons with couscous

I mainly use them for the marocan dish of preserved lemons served with couscous.

 

[college_cook]

We make a family meal pasta at work of grilled portobellos, grilled chicken, grilled red onions, tomatoes, kalamata olives, parmesan, fresh herbs, and preserved lemons, all tossed with pasta in EVOO. Though they are salty themselves, I realy like preserved lemons with other salty flavors, because they have a certain zip that really unlike anything else. len_p, you should consider toying with your recipe a little bit and maybe adding some dried herbs etc. to add additional aromas and flavor.

Also, how long do you preserve your lemons for? We let ours sit for at least a month before cracking the jar open.

 

[len_p]

After I jar the lemons I usually check 2-3 days after and complete with more lemon juice or salt if needed to cover all the lemons. Then I leave them in a cold place for 4-5 weeks. Once I open them I store them the fridge. I have just opened last weekend a jar from may and the lemons where in perfect condition.

 

[len_p]

The story of preserved lemons

I think I should tell you a bit of story about the preserved lemons. Once upon a time I was in Morroco in the company canteen where each day about 100 people where eating. In the traditional food section, on Thursday there was an immense pot of crystal clear yellow sauce with lemons which was served with chicken and couscous from other pots. So that color, which I later found out it's not from the lemons, and taste made me investigate further and start preserving lemons from my return home.

 

[ironchef]

Had to dig into the files for this one...

This is a roast chicken dish I did with preserved Meyer lemons. After rinsing and slicing the lemons, they were steeped in simple syrup to get that glaze and to also add some sweetness with the saltiness. It was served with braised onion and fennel, mushroom risotto, and a porcini-chicken jus.

 

[kitchenelf]

Had to dig into the files for this one...

This is a roast chicken dish I did with preserved Meyer lemons. After rinsing and slicing the lemons, they were steeped in simple syrup to get that glaze and to also add some sweetness with the saltiness. It was served with braised onion and fennel, mushroom risotto, and a porcini-chicken jus.

Yes please, that's what I'll have!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

len - when you say "as much salt as possible" are you completely covering the lemons with salt? .....and then adding fresh lemon juice too?

And Ironchef - I see your lemons are in slices versus "almost" cut in quarters like described in len's recipe. Can you slice them too?

 

[ironchef]

Another one from the archives. This dish used preserved lemon in the aioli. It was a salmon carpaccio with a preserved lemon and herb aioli, radish and pea sprout salad, and crispy Peruvian purple and sweet potato strings:

 

[len_p]

Very very nice photos, I can't wait to post one with my recipe. As for kitchenelf when I cut the lemons I add as much salt as they can hold then I cover them with juice from other lemons which I then discard. When they are covered with juice I add 2-3 more tbs of salt.

 

[GB]

Wow this thread has me drooling.

Len, when you put the lemons in the jar, are they spread open or are they together as if they were not cut?

 

[len_p]

After I cut them I add a lot of salt inside but then I store them in the jar as if they where together. The salt however almost dubles their volume. I usually stuff them a lot to minimize the extra juice needed. If there is not much juice, in time it goes thicker as some kind of jelly.

 

[GB]

Thanks. Sounds very interesting!

 

[Martha]

Pickled Lemons

After I jar the lemons I usually check 2-3 days after and complete with more lemon juice or salt if needed to cover all the lemons. Then I leave them in a cold place for 4-5 weeks. Once I open them I store them the fridge. I have just opened last weekend a jar from may and the lemons where in perfect condition.

I make these from a great middle east cooking book called "A Book of Middle Eastern Food: by Claudia Roden (Knoph). Ms. Roden has written other books about middle east food and her recipes starting me off in this very healthy and different style of food.

My previous neighbors were fond of perserved lemons, limes and pickles. I used to make them for her husband by the gallon (which would last about a year), who was originally from Iran, and they loved them. The Iranians eat a lot of Torshi. Once refrigerated, they love to let them "mature" and used them in tagines and other foods.

I also have a Russian receipe for Sugared Preserved Lemons. These are decilious as well.

 

[Yakuta]

Preserved lemons and green mangoes are so common in Indian cooking. They are called Achaars and just the thought of them have me drooling

I just got a big jar full from my cousins mother in California. They have lemon trees in their backyard so she made these preserved lemons and gave me some.

We preserve lemons a similar way but sometimes make it spicy with chili powder. Sometimes after the lemons are preserved we add jaggery to it (it's like brown sugar with molasses so it's sweet and gooey and just plain good).

We also preserve mangoes green ones with salt and chili powder

Most of this is eaten with a simple meal like dahl, rice and papaddum. You eat the rice and dahl and take a big bite of the mango or lemon with it. The crispy pappad, soft dahl and rice and the pungent and sour pickle sends your taste buds to heaven.

 

[len_p]

My grandmother was preserving all kind of vegetables from cucumber to cauliflower either in brine (pickle) or vinegar. I really think from time to time to start doing that, seems like a much more natural way of preserving stuff. Unfortunatelly my flat does not come with a cellar also

 

[Martha]

This sounds wonderful. What I miss about living in CA is LEMONS-- and my lovely Myer lemon tree. I live in the Pacific Northwest now and it's too cold. Most people raise lemon trees in a green house (if you can afford one) and it's never warm enought for the fruit to set.

Do have any measurments for how much chili powder or jaggery to add?

These sound wonderful.

 

[Yakuta]

Hi Martha, I rarely follow measurements but here is what I would recommend. If you make a large bottle of preserved lemons I would suggest that you take about 2 cups out.

Add 2 tsp of chili powder to that and 1/2 cup of jaggery (I would grate it first before adding). Mix it all together and let the flavors come together for a week before eating it.

I think these taste better than the Indian pickles from the store.

 

[Claire]

I haven't done this in years. Once I drove past a neighbor's house (did not know them) and saw this enormous, over-bearing lemon tree. I got up my courage and knocked on the door and asked if they were going to use all of those lemons. "He__ no, take what you want." I went to a cookbook and preserved them all in salt solution and they were just wonderful. I tried it once here, but the jar didn't seal well enough and they went bad. They are super for so many dishes, a very mellow flavor. As others have said, my recipe called for quartering them almost to the bottom (the quarters hang together still by the skins), salting liberally, stuffing in a jar (as I learned, a glass jar with a tight fitting lid, not a cutesy one with a domed lid that looks pretty but has a lot of air in it), then filling with half lemon juice, half water to the rim. The less air involved the better. To increase shelf life, I did boil jars and lids, although it is not a sanitary canning procedure when I do it, so don't think you have something for all eternity. This is just to extend the shelf life a little. These lemons are wonderful. Gee, maybe I'll try it again!

 

[miniman]

This is a recipe I learnt on a recent cooking course

Preserved lemons
5 lemons
70g salt
1 cinnamon stick
2 cloves
6 coriander seeds
4 black peppercorns
bay leaf
150ml lemon juice
water

Cut approx 8 vertical incisions in the the peel of each lemon. Do not go too deep or the lemon will seperate when cooked.
place in stainless steel pain with all other ingredients and cover the lemons with water
boil until lemons are softened (20/30 mins)
place in a clean container and leave for at least 5 days before using.

They could be canned after the cooking. We used some prepareed this way and they were great.