Preserved Fresh Lemons

Name: Preserved Fresh Lemons
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 720 h
Total time: 720 h 30 min
Yield: 1 2 Litre Jar
Ingredients: 6 unwaxed lemons; 125 g coarse sea salt; 2 whole cloves; 2 bay leaves; 8 coriander seeds; 8 black peppercorns; 6 to 8 lemons, juice of, fresh approximately or 500 ml unsweetened lemon juice; 1 1/2 liters kilner jars

Submitted by French Tart

"I always have at least one jar of preserved lemons made & ready to use; I use them extensively, especially in Tagines and Maghreb, (North African) cuisine. They are also wonderful when diced very finely and added to a whole chicken, or lamb for roasting. Just a small amount can enhance all types of daube, stew, casserole or crock-pot cooking. These are very easy to make & add a splash of colour to your pantry. DO try use unwaxed and untreated lemons wherever possible."

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photo by French Tart

Ready In:: 720hrs 30mins
Ingredients:: 8
Yields:: 1 2 Litre Jar

ingredients

6 unwaxed lemons
125 g coarse sea salt
2 whole cloves
2 bay leaves
8 coriander seeds
8 black peppercorns
6 to 8 lemons, juice of, fresh approximately or 500 ml unsweetened lemon juice
1 ¹⁄₂ liters kilner jars

directions

Soak the lemons in water for 2 to 3 days, changing the water 2 - 3 times, once a day.
Pat the lemons dry and quarter them from the top to just above the bottom, about 1/2" - leaving them in one piece.
Open up the lemons slightly, and sprinkle the sea salt onto the cut flesh - reshape them afterwards, so they look whole again.
Place half the remaining salt in the bottom of a large Sterilising jar; I use 1.5 litre Kilner jar for this amount.
Pack the lemons in and add the bay leaf and spices amongst the lemons.
Add the remaining salt & press down to release the lemon juice from the lemons.
Pour over the lemon juice - it's difficult to say exactly how much, but the last time I made these, I used about 500mls of unsweetened lemon juice; and in the past, I have used between 6 & 8 fresh lemons, squeezed - depending on the juiciness & size of lemons!
Seal and leave for at least one month; these will last up to 6-10 months in ideal conditions, dark & cool.
When you come to use the lemons, make sure you rinse them thoroughly beforehand.
IDEAS: Chop them up finely and add to baked fish dishes; put a whole lemon in to the cavity of a chicken to roast - take it out when cooked, and chop up finely and add to any gravy or sauce; Cut into quarters and add to tagines & stews; finely dice a lemon and add to sauces and stocks for stews & crockpot recipes -- the list is endless!

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Reviews

I've been making preserved lemons for years like a purist salt and lemon juice and nothing else - and the lemons joined at the base. Then I saw this recipe with the name that introduced me to French style strawberry conserve so I decided to give it a whirl. What joy, how delicious, almost good enough to eat with a spoon. I'll never do them plain again. The only think I did different was to cut the lemons into quarters, not as pretty but I'm not giving them away either and I can get more into the jar. Another brilliant effort Karen. Thanks and regards, John

The Dabblers
I'm not rating because I must have done something wrong -- the lemons at the top of the jar (poking out just slightly above the liquid) started to mold. I'm going to try again making sure that I completely cover the lemons. (It did smell delicious! I was sad to pour out the first batch.)

8elbows
Lemon prices are sky high and they are waxed here in Thailand since they are imported. Limes on the other hand are cheap and abundant. Will give this recipe a try with limes instead. Has anyone else tried this with limes, and was the "in recipes" taste totally different using preserved limes?

travelingclary
These were great! I made a batch quite a long time ago, but hadn't gotten around to using them (hubby is vegan and I wasn't sure what to use them on). But, I added some to Couscous with plums (132256), and it was great! Thanks for posting!

Busy Student
So far, excllent! I have always used Paula Wolfert's recipe for preserved lemons--the technique is the same, but the use of the cloves and bay and coriander is new. I have gotten to Step 8--my jar is setting on a shelf in the darkest part of the cool cellar. I'll report back anon...Six months later, I'm finally reporting back. These are great preserved lemons. I just used them in English Rose's Recipe #233658--a great tagine, only made better with these.

Chef Kate

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RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

French Tart

277

The sunflowers in the field behind my house in SW France: <img title=Sunflowers src=http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r271/copperhorse58/DSCN8221.jpg alt=Sunflowers width=640 height=480 /> I am British (English-Scottish), but I was born in South Africa and have lived all over the world, including Hong Kong, Germany, Cyprus, USA & Singapore. I have also been very fortunate to have travelled extensively over the years.........I still have wanderlust! I used to be an English Literature & Art History teacher & lecturer; before that, I trained and worked as a Graphic Designer for many years. I now live in France with my husband & my daughter who has just started university in September 2006. We also have one very chatty Burmese cat Willow, who allows us to live with her here! (I used to have three cats, I recently lost Monty, a beautiful seal point Siamese and before that, Rama, who was a debonair blue point Siamese cat - I would love to have another Siamese cat or cats in the future!) 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