Moroccan Preserved Lemons


Ingredients:

  • 1 cup lemon juice
  • 3 tbsp salt, and a little more to sprinkle on lemon wedges
  • 4 lemons
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 whole cloves
  • 3 coriander seeds
  • 3 black peppercorns

Instructions:

  1. Place 1/2 cup lemon juice and 1 tbsp salt in a glass jar just large enough to hold the lemons
  2. Cut each lemon into 6 wedges while leaving them attached on one end
  3. Sprinkle salt into the opening of each wedge and close them back up into the shape of whole lemons
  4. Pack lemons into the jar, along with 1 cinnamon stick, 1 bay leaf, 2 cloves, 3 black peppercorns, 1/2 cup of lemon juice, and 2 tbsp salt 
  5. Close jar and store in fridge for at least a month before using
  6. To use lemons, rinse under water amd remove flesh before serving

Yield: 4 lemons

Source: The Mediterranean Table Cookbook

Tips:

It was difficult for me to find the right size of container. I wound up not using a mason jar, like I would for pickles, and instead opted for this thing that snaps shut from the top. It's what the picture in the cookbook has as well.

I had enough space for more than 4 lemons. I did this over a month ago, so I don't remember how much I put it in. It was at least one more, but not double. So, 5-7 in that container.

I remember that I increased the seasoning to be proportional to the amount of lemons. It felt like there wasn't much in the way of spices, but since it's my first time I didn't want to stray. I did add a bit more lemon juice than was proportional to the ingredients, because I wanted to make sure all the lemons were submerged. They still wound up bobbing around with a couple surfacing a bit. When it was time to use one, I took from the bottom and rotated them.

Description:

I made these to use as an ingredient in a spiced chickpea dish that I'm making for an upcoming get-together with some friends. It's over a month since I originally assembled these, as I wanted to make sure they were complete and tested before I vouched for them.

I felt like it was light on spices, but tasting them definitely gives an impression of being something more than just salty lemons.  It feels a little odd that one of the main ingredients in preserved lemons is lemon juice.

This is the 118th post on this blog, but it's the 100th coming from a dish that I myself have made. If I exclude the Caring for Cast Iron post (made by me but it isn't food) and the second tzatziki recipe (feels like too much of a repeat), this means that every 100 recipes, I borrow 16. That means... 86% of the content on this blog is made by me. I'll probably make some of the other stuff as well, eventually. The contributors that I've updated on behalf of are Lee-Anne, my brother, and my mother. People that I've lived with.

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