Easy Preserved Lemon

Preserved Lemon

The holidays are over and it’s back to regular life.  Real life.  Mundane life.  It’s time to tackle all those little projects that have been haunting you: the chipped paint, peeling caulk, the enormous pile of laundry.

Let’s start simple.

Let’s start with preserved lemon.

Why start with here?  How are these for 2 good reasons?

First: You’d really like to be able to cross something off your to-do list and you’ve already come up with 5 reasons why today is not the day to bust out the caulk gun.

Second(and more importantly): Preserved lemon is really tasty and it will add a tangy bright spot to a bunch of upcoming meals.  And seeing how it is officially the dead of winter, we could all benefit from a bright spot here and there.

Not much to it: a couple of lemons, salt, mason jar.

Preserved Lemon

Cut a few vertical slits in a lemon.  Are your hands as chapped as mine?  Gloves would have been smart.

Preserved Lemon

Sprinkle salt in the slits and rub the lemon flesh.

Preserved Lemon

Place the lemon in a sterilized jar and cover with fresh lemon juice.  Let it do its thing in the back of the fridge for a few weeks until you’re ready to to make a fragrant tagine, braise chicken with green olives, put together a killer couscous salad, or simmer a zippy risotto.

Preserved Lemon

Easy Preserved Lemon
 
Prep time
Total time
 
Preserved lemon can be used to add a citrus punch to a variety of dishes, from couscous to braised meats and Moroccan tagines.
Author:
Recipe type: Condiment
Cuisine: Moroccan
Serves: yields 1 lemon
Ingredients
  • 1 Whole Lemon
  • 3 Tbsp. Kosher Salt
  • Fresh Lemon Juice to Cover (juice of about 2 lemons)
Instructions
  1. Sterilize a wide-mouthed mason jar.
  2. Cut 4 vertical slits, about ¾ inch deep, in 1 lemon.
  3. Rub slits with salt.
  4. Place lemon in mason jar and cover with the juice of remaining lemons.
  5. Refrigerate for at least 2-3 weeks.
  6. Rinse to remove excess salt. Finely chop peel and use in your favorite dishes.

 

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