In France, preserved lemons, citron confit, are usually associated with Moroccan cooking, but they can be found throughout the Middle East and India and even in America – Florida key limes and lemons use to be pickled and sent up north – any place where the fruit was grown. Like other preserved food, fresh lemons were initially cured when they were abundant in order to enjoy them when they were out of season or hard to find. Today we no longer need to preserve lemons, but the tradition continues because they just taste so good. The curing process works culinary magic on fresh lemons, transforming their bold tartness into a mellow, citrusy salty flavor – full of lemony essence without the bite.
Preserved lemons are flavour powerhouses with remarkable versatility – as a condiment and also a flavour additive. No longer confined to traditional recipes – North Africain tagines, Indian relishes or a side dish to serve with wild game as in Russia – today they are being used to add a blast of bright, salty, lemony flavour to anything from mixed carrots with butter and honeycomb to the hollandaise sauce on eggs Benedict or even your vodka martini!
In Morocco, small, thin-skinned doqq and boussera lemons are used but they are difficult to find outside of North Africa. Meyers lemons are more readily available and will make a good substitute, but any lemon, small and heavy for its size (indicating juiciness) with a relatively thin skin, will also produce good results. There are various methods for pickling the lemons. The Jews of Morocco use olive oil to cover the lemons, removing them after 6 days. Other recipes call for adding herbs or spices or using vinegar. Below is a recipe that is simple and will result in perfectly preserved lemons.
Once cured and before adding to recipes, the lemons should be rinsed with fresh water, then generally the pulp is scooped out and only the rind is used.
Ingredients
Instructions
