Preserved Lemons
Bottled Sunshine.
Ideally you should use freshly picked lemons for this recipe. The fruit should be juicy and golden yellow, with a glistening skin.
You’ll need
• lemons – as many as you can, or want, to bottle
• salt, lots of salt
• freshly squeezed lemon juice (bottled lemon juice is a no-no)
For every jar you can also add (these are optional):
• 1 stick cinnamon
• 3 whole cloves
• 6 coriander seeds
• 4 whole black peppercorns
• 1 dried bay leaf
• 1 whole red chilli (if you can handle the fire)
Here’s how
1. Tenderising tactics. Soak the whole lemons in luke-warm water for three days (no need for a hot plate, just drain and refill the container with tepid water every morning).
2. The kindest cut. Quarter the lemons lengthwise, but do not cut right through; stop about 1 cm from the bottom.
3. Crystal cure. Put one tablespoon of salt into each sterilised jar. Part the quarters of each lemon and salt the flesh as well. Then pack the lemons in the jar. Push down firmly until the juice flows and there is space for more lemons (rather like a taxi). While you do this, add the spices down the sides of the jar so that they add visual appeal.
4. All juiced up. Now fill the jar with lemon juice. Knock the jar on a table every now and then to dislodge air bubbles and then refill with juice. All the fruit should be covered with juice, but take care to allow a little room at the top so that the contents can move around as you turn the jar.
5. Time is of the essence… Leave the jars in a warm place for 30 days for the lemons to cure. Turn them morning and evening, so that the salt and lemon juice become evenly distributed throughout the jar.
6. Right as rain. If ever you need a dash of lemon flavour, take out as much as you need, scoop out the pulp and rinse the lovely soft peel under running water. Use to your heart’s content.
Go! says: Even once you’ve opened a jar, it need not be kept in the fridge.
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