This week, Roy had been given an enormous bag of lemons by a friend of his. He didn’t have a clue how he would manage to use so many lemons in a short time, so decided to look through his recipe books for inspiration. He noticied a number of recipes which called for preserved lemons, and he really enjoys these lemons, so he wondered if he might be able to make them himself. After a little trial and error, he successfully combined several recipes to make delicious lemons. So this week, Roy Creates Quick And Delicious Preserved Lemons
You Will Need:
- 11 lemons
- Lots and lots of cooking salt
- Spices and herbs. Roy used a few cardamom pods, some bay leaves and chilli.
- Boiling water
- A little olive oil
Method:
- Three to four days before you want to pack your lemons, put 10 of the lemons into a big bowl and cover with water.
- Change the water in the lemons each day – you will notice them sink a little. This is the gasses in the lemons dispersing
- Drain the lemons and cut them (almost) into quarters. Do not cut all the way to the bottom though – you want your lemons to still be in one piece!
- Pack the inside of the lemons with salt, holding them over a bowl to catch the salt which falls out and any juice.
- Squash the lemons closed and put them into a big jar (Roy ended up using a big pasta storage jar. Whatever jar you decide on, needs to have a wide neck)
- Put all the salt packed lemons into the jar (or jars if you use more than one) and add the spices and herbs. Roy split the chilli to let all the flavour out.
- Squeeze the last lemon and add the juice to the jar
- Top the jar up with boiling water
- Allow the jar to sit open for a few minutes to let the air bubbles disappear
- Cover the top of the jar with a thin layer of oil, like when you make pesto.
- Store in the fridge for one month before using the lemons.