Preserved Lemons

How much do we love going a Food Tour and visiting all the local grocery shops, like on our Turkish Food Tour through Auburn.

These tiny lemons were $2.99 a kg and I had no choice but to buy a big bag of them 🍋

Preserved lemons are great minced in a salad dressing, chopped through a marinade, or a stuffing and if you love lemons as much as we do, simply eaten straight out of the jar, with a block of Parmesan.

Once home, I remembered seeing @ottolenghi making preserved lemons, so here is his recipe.

Preserved Lemon Recipe

6 lemons

6 tablespoons flaky sea salt

6 bay leaves

Whole peppercorns

6 lemons, juiced

olive oil

Before starting, get a jar just large enough to accommodate all the lemons tightly. To sterilise it, fill it up with boiling water, leave for a minute and then empty it. Allow it to dry out naturally without wiping it so it remains sterilised.

Wash the lemons and cut a deep cross all the way from the top to 2cm from the base, so you are left with 4 quarters attached. Stuff each lemon with a spoonful of salt and place in the jar. Push the lemons in tightly so they are all squeezed together well.

Add the bay leaves and peppercorns, and press down on the lemons as hard as you can to squeeze as much of the juice out of them as possible. Add the lemon juice and cover with a thin layer of olive oil. Seal the jar and leave in a cool place for at least 4 weeks. The longer you leave them, the better the flavour.

#PreservedLemons #Lemons #Ottolenghi #Preserving