Preserved Lemons with Honey a la Greg Malouf

Enough preserved lemons. Almost enough.

Making preserved lemons sounds like a lot of bother but it’s not: it takes about ten minutes to put together a jar or two. Like crème fraîche, they are much cheaper to make than to buy; unlike crème fraîche, which is always perfection, they are much much better home-made. And organic, of course.

I’ve adapted this recipe from Greg Malouf and many others—Greg’s great advantage is that freezing and thawing the lemons before you begin cuts off about two months of ageing time, so you can eat them sooner.

I tried a batch in a pretty non-mason jar, which did not make a proper seal, and to my sorrow they went mouldy. So bite the bullet and get a four-pack of ½ litre mason jars and a few lids, for under $10, and you’ll be all set. Sterilize the jar before you pack it, and keep them refrigerated once you open them. They won’t last nearly long enough to spoil. If halving, use the same amount of the spices.

Use only the rind of preserved lemons, discard the flesh. Add finely chopped skin of ½ a preserved lemon and a minced clove of garlic (or a small shallot) to 4 T butter and smoosh it under the skin of a chicken before roasting (that is AMAZING), or add to mayonnaise, hollandaise or guacamole—glorious in risotto. I even put it in mashed potatoes.

2-3 pounds organic lemons, since the peel is the whole point
   (enough to fill two ½ litre jars plus 4-5 more to squeeze for juice)
1–1 ½ cups salt
1 T coriander seeds, lightly crushed
2 cinnamon sticks
2 lemon leaves or bay leaves
¼ cup honey
1 cup lemon juice
3 cups warm water

Wash and dry the lemons. Cut lengthways into quarters from the point of the lemon to 1/4” from the stem, leaving joined at the base. Put in a plastic bag in the freezer for 24 hours. Remove from freezer and allow to defrost. 


Stuff the centre of each lemon with a heaped teaspoon of salt. Arrange neatly in a ½ litre jar, sprinkling each layer of lemons with more salt and crushed coriander seeds, using 1/2-3/4 cup salt in each jar. Place the sticks of cinnamon down the sides of the jar, along with the lemon leaves or bay leaves. Stir the honey and lemon juice with the warm water until the honey dissolves. Pour the mixture into the jar, covering the lemons entirely (add more lemon juice if it is not enough to cover them), and screw the lid on tight. 

Many sources say you can just leave it in a cool dark place for a month. But I advise processing the lemons. Use a fresh mason lid. Place a piece of cardboard on the bottom of a large pot and sit the jar on top. This stops it from vibrating. Add warm water to cover the jar completely and slowly bring it to the boil. Boil for 6 minutes, then remove from heat. Gently and carefully lift the jar from the pot.
Store in a cool, dark place for a month before opening. Once opened, keep refrigerated. If the lemons are not frozen first, the maturation process will take at least 3 months. As I open one jar, I make another, because I use them up in about a month. And I usually make two at a time, to have one to give away.
 

Using preserved lemons

To use: Remove a piece of lemon from the liquid (some people say to use a wooden spoon to pull one out, I suppose to avoid some taint to the brine?) and rinse. Scrape out and discard the pulp (you can press the pulp through a sieve to obtain the juice for extra flavour). Slice the lemon peel into thin strips or small dice.

The peel acts like salt, because it’s so saturated, so be careful when salting a dish that you’re adding the peel to. Fabulous for scenting/salting rice or couscous, or baked chicken dishes. You can bake chicken or fish in a foil packet with a few strips of peel mmmm. I added some to my tuna sandwich today. It’s a subtle surprise every now and then. Extremely good in mashed potatoes.

We most often use preserved lemon in risotto (nice with asparagus or salmon added with the last ladle of liquid) or in a quinoa salad with orange peppers, cucumbers, and white onion. Put the diced preserved lemon peel in with the quinoa as it cooks, to let the grain soak in the salt and the very mysterious ancient lemon flavour.


Crab or shrimp spaghettini with preserved lemons

1/2 pound spaghettini or capelli di angeli
1/2 cup chopped red onion
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 to 2 teaspoons sambal oelek
1/2 pound shelled cooked crabmeat, cut into 1-inch pieces, or peeled raw shrimp
1/4 preserved lemon rind, rinsed and finely chopped
1/3 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 tablespoons salted butter

Cook spaghettini al dente. Meanwhile, sauté onion in oil in a large heavy skillet over medium heat, stirring, until softened. Stir in sambal oelek and cook 1 minute, then add crabmeat. Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring frequently, just until crabmeat is heated through (or shrimp are pink). Stir parsley, lemon and butter. Drain pasta, then add to skillet and toss to coat well.


Israeli Couscous with Preserved Lemon and Butternut squash

1 preserved lemon
1 1/2 pound butternut squash, peeled and seeded, and cut into 1/4-inch dice
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 3/4 cups Israeli couscous, about 1 pound (this is very good with quinoa too)
1 (3-inch) cinnamon stick
1 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted (chopped almonds are fine, or just leave out)
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 475°F. Toss squash with 1 tablespoon oil and salt to taste (not much! those lemons are salty!) in a large shallow baking pan and spread in 1 layer. Roast 15 minutes, until squash is just tender, and transfer to a large bowl.
Cook couscous with the cinnamon stick in a large pot of boiling salted water for 10 minutes, until just tender.
Meanwhile, halve lemons and scoop out flesh, pressing through a sieve to extract juice for extra zing. Cut peel into 1/4-inch dice to measure ¼ cup (or more if you are addicted).
Sauté onion in 1 tablespoon oil in a heavy skillet over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until just beginning to turn golden. Add to squash. Stir in the lemon peel and juice, 2 T olive oil, parsley, nuts, raisins, and ground cinnamon and let sit. Drain the couscous and toss with onion/squash melange.