Lemony goodness

A quick visit to Waipukurau a few weeks back netted us a huge bag of lemons and grapefruit (thanks Gran!). I’ve turned some of them into cordial, which is highly addictive (I’ll blog the recipe later), and preserved the rest of the lemons by packing them in salt. (By the way, read this book about salt – the most fascinating book I’ve finished this year.)

I first read about preserved lemons in one of Ray McVinnie’s food columns in the SST a few years ago, then noticed they rated a mention in the NZ Gardener Magazine. I now understand why people rave about them so much – it turns out that preserved lemons are DELICIOUS! After three months of marinating in lemon juice and salt, the lemon rind becomes soft and sweet and the liquid turns into a wonderful syrup. They enhance almost any savoury dish they’re added to – we add chopped up pieces to roast lamb, roast chicken, roast potatoes, rice, salads and we use the syrup in vinaigrettes. I now make several jars throughout the year, using whatever lemons I can lay my hands on – usually Meyer- and I’ve also preserved limes as well, to lip-smackingly-good effect. I reckon some preserved lemons would go perfectly with Emma’s perfect roast chicken recipe. Here’s how I make them:

Ingredients:
- Lemons – about 4 per jar & the juice from another 4
- Sea Salt
- Bay leaves, rosemary spring (if you like)

Equipment:
- Some jars with lids
- Tongs
- Lemon juicer
- Seive
- Bowl
- Lemon zester
- Saucepan
- Oven heated to 100 degrees C
- Oven gloves

1. Heat the oven to 100 degrees C. Wash your jars well in hot soapy water, then pop them into the oven to sterilise them, for at least 10 minutes. At the same time, pop your lids/seals in a saucepan full of water and bring these to the boil on the stovetop. Boil them for at least 10 minutes, just to make sure they are sterile.

2. Give your lemons a bit of a scub, to make sure they’re clean. Pat them dry, then slice them with an X through the top, but not all the way through – so that the lemons are still intact, as per this photo:

3. Scrape out as many lemon pips as you can (it doesn’t matter if you don’t get them all). Pop the sliced lemons into a bowl, and start packing them with sea salt. You want to cram as much salt into the middle of the lemons as possible.

4. Once you have packed your lemons with salt, juice the other lemons – the stuffed lemons will be covered with lemon juice in the jars. I find it easiest to juice these lemons ahead of time, and also zest them *before* I juice them, so that the zest doesn’t go to waste – I simply pop the zest into a bag in the freezer to use at a later date.

5. Remove a sterilised jar from the oven. Using the tongs, pick up a salted and stuffed lemon and add it to the jar. I can cram about 4 lemons in a 500ml jar. Use the tongs to push the stuffed lemons down – because the jar is sterile, I don’t want to touch it with my fingers. I usually throw in a sprig of rosemary and a bay leaf as well. Some people add cinnamon quills and cloves – basically, add whatever herbs and spices you like!

6. Sprinkle a few more spoonfuls of salt into the jar, then pour lemon juice over the top of its contents. I usually pour the juice through a seive, to catch any rogue pips and pith. I’ve found it doesn’t matter if the lemons aren’t totally covered with lemon juice – the sterile jars and salt pretty much make it impossible for any bugs to grow.

7. Use the tongs and fetch your seal/lid from the boiling water in the saucepan and pop on top of the jar. I don’t worry if the contents don’t seal properly (ie if the lid doesn’t ‘pop’), because I’ve never had a problem with the contents going mouldy.

8. Put your jar of lemony goodness in a cool, darkish place for about three months and shake it up every once in a while. After three months, the liquid turns to syrup and you can open the jar and start using the lemons however you desire. Once opened, I keep them in the fridge.

9. Clean up the shocking mess!

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Tags: preserved lemons; meyer;salt