Preserved Meyer Lemons

"Preserving a Meyer lemon captures its glorious perfume. We’ve adapted cookbook author Paula Wolfert’s quick method, our favorite, and made it even faster by blanching the lemons first. The rind of a preserved lemon is a common ingredient in Moroccan dishes; we also love it in all kinds of soups, stews, and salads and as a low-fat alternative to olives. Save the pulp for Bloody Marys or anything else enlivened by a little lemon juice and salt. Tip: There are some recipes for preserving lemons that call for you to slice the lemon, but not all the way through and pack it with the salt. This is not one of them. You will need a VERY sharp knife to cut the Meyer's into wedges, as they will be especially soft after blanching them. And you want to get rid of the seeds. No preserving of the seeds. Use a flexible cutting board to cut them on so you can save some of the juice that collects from cutting them. You can use some of that to help with the packing of the lemons. This recipe is adapted from epicurious.com. You can use pint jars or quart jars, it's your preference. I used pint canning jars, and kept some and gave some away as gifts. You may prefer to use one large canning jar to pack your lemons into."
 
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Ready In:
120hrs 15mins
Ingredients:
4
Yields:
48 pieces
Serves:
48
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ingredients

  • 2 12 - 3 lbs meyer lemons (10 to 12)
  • 23 cup coarse salt
  • 14 cup olive oil
  • canning jar (pint, quart, your preference)
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directions

  • Blanch 6 Meyer lemons in boiling water 5 minutes.
  • When cool enough to handle, cut lemons into 8 wedges each and discard seeds. Toss with salt in a bowl and pack into jar(s).
  • Squeeze enough juice from remaining lemons to measure 1 cup.
  • Add enough juice to cover lemons and cover jar(s) with lid. Let stand at room temperature, shaking gently once a day, 5 days. Add oil and chill.
  • Cooks' note:

  • • Preserved lemons keep, chilled, up to 1 year.

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RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

I am studying as a chef, but have been a baker for years and years. Cakes, cookies, wedding cakes (baking and decorating), pastries, candies, chocolates...you name it...I've probably made it. I planted an herb garden 2 seasons ago and really enjoyed it and having been doing so ever since. I had fresh herbs all summer long and an abundance to dry and "put up" for the winter. Nothing beats your own fresh rosemary, basil, thyme and savory, sage, mint, oregano. I have five huge rosemary bushes that are thriving outside, despite frigid weather (it's quite hardy!). Rosemary is probably my favorite herb. I love to infuse oils...the safe way. I infuse them right before I cook with them, either with garlic or herbs or both. I love making simple syrups (I always use the 2 to 1 ratio: 2 cups of sugar to 1 cup of water...it IS a syrup). I love it in hot tea and in a variety of drinks...even homemade ice creams. I've infused simple syrups with rosemary, lemon, apple mint, lime and lavender. All were fantastic with a cup of, for instance, blood orange/pomegranate green tea, or even basic teas or plain green teas. They do wonders for iced teas also. Try sweetening your lemonade with a basil simple syrup, it's great! I always have them on hand. They take up a huge amount of refrigerator space, but I cannot do without them. I am an amateur photographer and just got my new Canon XSi 450D Rebel and am having such a great time with it. I'm currently experimenting with macro photography with some great lens diopters. So when I make a recipe and it comes out looking nice, I'll have a really detailed picture of it, lol. More as time goes by. This was a quick jot. I Was Adopted banner: <img src="http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j166/ZaarNicksMom/PACsticker-Adopted.jpg">
 
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