Preserved Lemons
When Life Gives You Too Many Lemons
You may have noticed that I incorporate preserved lemons into a lot of my recipes. I do that because I was gifted a jar of these delectable delicacies after having just moved into my new home from my next door neighbor. To me, they were life changing. Sour, sweet, and salty - a perfect addition to take any recipe to the next level. My neighbor, Eric, came over one day and showed me how easy it is to prepare these beauties and they last up to EIGHT months in the fridge! Make some this week between blizzard shoveling shifts.
This is what the Hangry Kitchen looks like when I don't give a.....
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Preserved Lemons
Hangry Timer: 4 Weeks; 30 minutes active
Feeds: A Party
Cost: $5
What You Need:
Lemons
Salt
Water
Juniper Berries (optional)
Jars
What to do with it:
Find a jar. I used an old pickle jar to maximize the amount of lemons I could preserve. A spaghetti sauce jar or mason jar would also be perfect!
Figure out how many lemons you can squeeze into the jar. I try to shove 8-9 lemons in at a time.
Cross-cut the lemons without cutting all the way through, so that the whole lemon is still intact.
Stuff the lemon with salt - I used course sea salt - pack them full of salt and squeeze the lemon closed, filling with more salt if necessary.
Place each salt stuffed lemon into the jar, and pack the jar as full as you can, so that the lemons don't move.
Squeeze any leftover lemon juice into the jar, add a few juniper berries if you have some and fill the jar with water.
Screw on the lid tightly and place in the fridge for a month or two, turning the jar upside down each day to distribute the brine.
Wait 4-8 weeks.
Drain the lemons. Cut the lemons the rest of the way through, so you have quartered lemons. Using a spoon, scoop the pulpy flesh out of the lemon, leaving only the rinds.* Make sure you scrape off all of the bright white pith, it can be bitter.
Dice up the rinds and put them into jars. Keep in the fridge for up to 8 months, if you can make them last that long!
Preserved lemons are a great gift! Jar them up and tie with some twine and a little recipe card - a homemade gift that will last long after the holidays are over. Check out my recipe page for lots of ideas to incorporate these beauties - my favorite being avocado toast.
*Use the discarded lemon pulp to make some infused olive oil! Fill a bottle with a tablespoon of the lemon pulp and olive oil, let infuse for 24-48 hours for bright and delicious lemon olive oil!
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