Preserved Lemons

Preserved lemons, are lemons on steroids! Their unique pickled taste and silken texture cannot be duplicated with fresh lemons.

We love summer for the bounty of fruit & vegetables from the garden, at the moment the lemon tree is in full fruit and we thought it was a perfect opportunity to put down some preserved lemons in salt to have preserved  lemons any time we want that flavour power boost they give to a dish.

The  lemon tree is quiet amazing as it has fruit all year round. The largest lemon I actually weighed at an amazing 18.8 ounces (1/2 kg)…incredible! Sadly we have no idea of the variety as the tree was on the property when we bought it but my visitors seldom leave here without a bag of summer goodness.

These preserved lemons are very quickly made and with a minimum of effort to invert the jar to disperse the salt over several days. Stored in your pantry they add amazing flavour to so many dishes.

Try adding preserved lemon slices to pan fried chicken thighs or breast along with a little white wine, some chopped garlic and some fresh chopped parsley to finish….stirred through some creamy yogurt and tossed over steamed veggies or in our Moroccan Chicken dish for a delicious and easy lemony chicken with warm spices, onion, parsley and olives served over rice. Big Yum!

Check out this superb recipe using preserved lemons

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Preserved Lemons

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes

If you've never used preserved lemons you are in for a treat. Preserving the lemons intensifies the citrus flavour.

You only use the skin, and discard the flesh, as it's incredibly salty.

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Ingredients

• Unwaxed thick skinned lemons - as many as you want to preserve
• Coarse salt or rock salt - use 1 tablespoon per lemon
• Boiling water or lemon juice to cover
• Olive oil approx 1-2 tablespoons
• Sterilised glass jar with lid

Instructions

• Slice each lemon lengthways into quarters
• Layer quarters into a sterilised jar & sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of salt evenly per lemon, continue layering like this until the jar is full, leaving a 1 inch gap at top of the jar ( as lemons float)
• Fill the jar with extra lemon juice or boiling water till lemons are covered, seal.
• Next day pour a thin layer of olive oil on the top to seal the lemons from the air.
• Reseal jar and leave in a prominent position as a reminder to invert jar 3-4 times a day to distribute the salt, do this for one week.
• At this point pop them in your pantry (no need to refrigerate) and wait another couple of weeks before using.

Notes

• lemons are ready to use when the skin appears translucent and soft. Usually 4-6 weeks from bottling

Nutrition Information

Amount Per Serving Calories 0Total Fat 0gSaturated Fat 0gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 0gCholesterol 0mgSodium 0mgCarbohydrates 0gFiber 0gSugar 0gProtein 0g