Kitchen Helper - Preserving Lemons
When life gives you lemons – preserve them! Here’s how.
This is the time of the year when backyard lemon trees are full of their bright yellow fruit and they’re also in good supply in all our stores.
If you find yourself with a glut of lemons and want to make the most of their seasonal abundance, you can try preserving your own.
Used in North African and Middle Eastern cuisines to add deep, aromatic brightness to a dish, they are simple to make with only two ingredients. Here’s how.
1. First, sterilise a large, clean glass jar with a wide mouth and a tight-fitting lid: wash and rinse your jar and place it in a 120C oven for 15 minutes to dry completely, and then leave it to cool.
2. Wash and dry your lemons and slice them into quarters or eighths depending on how they best fit into your jar.
3. Sprinkle a generous few pinches of coarse sea salt into the bottom of the jar, and then begin layer the lemon wedges, salting each layer as you go. Press and pack them down as tightly as possible, with the help of the handle of a wooden spoon or similar. The wedges should release enough juice to cover themselves.
4. Once all packed in, make sure all the wedges are submerged in the lemon juice. Wipe off the rim, close the jar tightly and put your jar in a cool, dark place.
5. Turn or gently shake the jar every few days to make sure the salt and juice are nicely mingling.
6. Your preserved lemons will be ready to use in three or four weeks. You’ll find that the peel has softened and the flavour is mellow and fragrant.
7. After opening, always store in the refrigerator and make sure the lemon wedges remain submerged.
To use, take a wedge from the jar, rinse off the brine and scrape out the pulp. Generally, a recipe will only require the peel. Finely chop it and add it to any dish where you’d like a lemony zing. They’re brilliant in a slow-cooked tagine, lentil and bean dishes, combined with roasted vegetables, and will add a zesty brightness to fish and salads.
Get some inspiration from these recipes using preserved lemon from Hill Street’s recipe collection.