Preserved Lemon Experiment

Mostly this post exists to I can laugh at myself a little.

Going through Plenty, I realized that I would need some preserved lemon, as the ingredient comes up with relative frequency through the book. Okay, no problem... I have seen a recipe for them in another book that I own, The Food of Morocco, and it didn't look so hard. Involved lemons and salt, simple enough, right? So without re-reading the recipe (not a practice I advocate or typically ascribe to), I picked up a few lemons and figured I'd give it a whirl.

When I read through the recipe this morning in preparation for making it, I realized I had the wrong salt. The recipe calls for rock salt - I have fine grain sea salt. I figure, what the hell, all salt is sodium, maybe the form it's in doesn't matter so much? Here's hoping, anyway. So I ramble my way through the recipe, winging it in terms of proportions because I preserved two lemons, rather than the recipe's indicated 8-12 as I didn't think I'd use that many preserved lemons. When I get to the end of my monkeying around, it occurs to me that I can't recall ever having tasted preserved lemon, so I have no point of comparison to know if my results are adequate or awful. Fun times all around. If it fails, I am out two lemons, some salt, and a bay leaf. Not a catastrophic proposition. ^_^

Preserved Lemons
(From The Food of Morocco, p. 285)
makes 1 2L jar, or 2 1L jars

8-12 thin skinned new season lemons (unwaxed)
rock salt
1-2 extra lemons
black peppercorns, optional
bay leaves, optional

To prepare a storage jar, preheat the oven to 120C (235F). Wash the jar and lid in hot soapy water and rinse with hot water. Put the jar in the oven for ~20 minutes, or until fully dry. Do not dry with a tea towel.

If lemons are very firm, soak in water to cover for 3 days, changing water daily. Wash lemons if soaking is not required.

Washed and ready.

Cut lemons from the stem end into quarters, almost to the base. Insert 1 tablespoon rock salt into each lemon, close it up and place it in a jar.

I found it easier to try and fill them by standing them in a bowl.

Repeat until jar is filled, sprinkling 1 tablespoon salt between layers. Pack lemons into the jar as tightly as possible and add a bay leaf and a few black peppercorns to each jar if desired.

Wash extra lemons and add the juice of 1 lemon to each jar. Fill with slightly cooled, boiled water. Put the washed skin from a squeezed-out lemon half on top of the lemons in the jar so that if any white film forms (which is harmless, just unattractive), the lemon skin can be discarded when the jar is opened. Seal and store in a cool, dark place for 4 weeks, gently shaking the jars daily for the first week to dissolve the salt. The cloudy liquid clears in this time. Lemons will keep for 6 months or more. Once the jar is opened, store in the refrigerator.

Ta-da!

To prepare preserved lemon for cooking: Remove a lemon from the jar with a clean fork. Separate lemon into quarters and rinse under running water. Remove and discard the pulp. Rinse the rind, pat dry with paper towel and use as directed in the recipe.

I'll update on the progress of this experiment in roughly four weeks. Until then, I am going to keep trying to find preserved lemon elsewhere so I have some kind of baseline to compare this improvisation to.