Easy Preserved Lemons
These are great to have in the fridge to add a zesty, citrusy hit to just about anything you make. Preserved lemons used to show up primarily in Moroccan recipes but you'll find them included in recipes for other cuisines now as well. They are versatile and flavourful. We use them in pilau/pilafs, salads, dressings, stews, soups, pastas, braises and more. This "recipe" requires a few brief minutes of your time followed by 2 longer sits on the counter.
- 2 organic lemons (regular or Meyer lemons)
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt
- 2 extra lemons (you may need these for juice and they don't need to be organic)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil (or however much it takes to create a film over the top of the jar)
Cut the lemons into quarters, take out the seeds (or not, I didn't bother). Sprinkle half the salt into a jar, add the lemon chunks and sprinkle the rest of the salt on top. Squish the lemons down into the jar so you put the lid on. Once the lid is on, give the jar a shake to make sure that the salt is distributed well.
- Let it sit - 1 week
Let sit for one week on a counter or in a cupboard. You can shake it every day if you like, but it isn't really necessary. After a week, open the jar and squish the lemons down farther. If the lemon juice does not rise above the level of the lemons when you do that, add more lemon juice from another lemon or two (depending on how much juice you need) to cover. If you have some kind of weight that you can put on top - like my pickle pebbles - use it here to push the lemons down and to keep them under the liquid.
- Let it sit - 3 more weeks
You can add dried spices or dried chilies at this point (or not), cover and let sit on the counter or in a cupboard for 3 more weeks.
The pilau I made was quinoa, preserved lemon, arugula, dukkah, barberries, olive oil, salt & pepper.
