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A jar of preserved lemons next to a preserved lemon chopped and ready to add to a dish.
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Preserved Lemons

Delicious lemon pieces preserved in salt make a wonderful addition to all sorts of Mediterranean dishes.
Servings: 12 lemon quarters
Author: Helen Best-Shaw
Prep Time5 minutes

Ingredients

  • 5 lemons - unwaxed
  • 1 cup salt

Optional spices

  • peppercorns
  • coriander seeds
  • cinnamon sticks

Instructions

  • Wash three of the lemons and top, tail and quarter them lengthwise.
    Spread them out in a dish and cover in half the salt. Then cover and leave them for three or four hours or overnight.
    5 lemons, 1 cup salt
  • Wash the jars and then sterilise them by heating in the oven.
  • After resting, the salt will have started to draw the juice out from the lemons and the skin would have started to have softened.
  • Insert the lemon quarters into a sterilised jar, stacking them up in layers and packing them in tightly.
    To each layer, add some of the drawn out juice and salt.
  • You can add some spices at this stage; a few peppercorns, coriander seeds, cardamon pods or a shirt length of cinnamon stick.
    peppercorns, coriander seeds, cinnamon sticks
  • If the lemons are not covered with salt and liquid, juice the remaining lemons, add to the jar to they are covered. It is important they are submerged. Some people use a non metallic weight to hold them down - a clean smooth stone would work well here if needed.
    Pour the remains of the salt over and seal the jars
  • Gently swirl the jars every day for 4 weeks. The lemons will fizz as they ferment and you should open the jars a couple of times a week to release the pressure.
  • After one month, the lemons are ready to use, the skins will be soft enough to cut with the edge of a spoon.
    To use your preserved salted lemons, scrape out the flesh and discard it. Wash the peel, chop it and add it to your dish.
• Please note that the nutrition information provided below is approximate and meant as a guideline only.
• Unless stated otherwise cup conversions have been made with an online tool. For accuracy please check with your favoured conversion tool. We recommend buying inexpensive digital kitchen scales.