January 11th, 2010
Pickled lemons
Pickled Lemons
Pickled Lemons are very easy to make and work so well in Moroccan dishes. They can also be used to wake up bean dishes or dips and marry beautifully with smoked salmon. There are a variety of ways to pickle them but this method (you can hardly call it a recipe) is easy and a favourite with me.Choose firm lemons (Meyers tend to be quite soft) Yen Ben, Eureka or Lisbon are best.
I described the method on Newstalk ZB on Saturday where you make a cross cut almost though the lemon leaving the base intact and stuffing with rock salt but if you want to save on salt and jars try cutting them into quarters. Get about 8 lemons and a cup or two of rock salt. Cut as described. In the photo above I did some whole and some quartered and they look fine. Put an inch or so of salt into the bottom of a large sterilized jar, place the cut lemons in a large bowl and rub the salt into them. Pack them into the jar layering well with more salt and some extra juice. Top up with a little boiling water and if you like, float a layer of olive oil on top, though I didn’t for the photographed ones.
Some methods call for a few coriander seeds to be added or cinnamon stick /bay leaf, but it’s the salt that pickles them. Leave them on a windowsill for about a month. Some people store them in the fridge once opened but I haven’t found it necessary.
To use, remove from the jar with a fork (not fingers) to stop contamination. Rinse off the salty liquid, remove the flesh and most of the pith and finely slice or dice skin, as required. Add to couscous with chopped coriander or parsley to liven it up.
Posted by Sue Story // Filed in Recipes