I purchase a jar of preserved lemons to make hen and chorizo stew, however I solely ever use a few them. Any solutions for what to do with the remainder of the jar?
Joseph, Glasgow
“There are so many issues,” says chef and author Sami Tamimi, who’s at present working a sequence of on-line Palestinian cookery courses. “I may write a ebook about this very query.” However, till that day comes, know that the aromatic, barely tart fruit will brighten and add depth to all types, from dressings and dips to salads, stews and Sunday roasts.
The primary lesson in these lemons, nevertheless, is considered one of storage. “You don’t must preserve them within the fridge,” Tamimi says. “The salt content material means they’ll final fortunately within the cabinet for a couple of months.” However when life offers you too many lemons, he says, it’s time to show to the freezer: “Take away the pips, blitz the preserved lemon(s), then decant into an ice-cube tray and freeze.” These cubes may then be destined for future salad dressings (“simply add olive oil, no matter herbs you want, and season”), combined with olive oil and seasoning to pour over a roast leg or shoulder of lamb, and even relax in a jug of home made lemonade: “Blitz the frozen lemon with mint, [fresh] lemon juice and sugar, then add soda water,” Tamimi says. “It’s so scrumptious in summer season.”
Whereas preserved lemons are generally related to North African cooking, their skills lengthen far past the likes of tagines. Proving their versatility, chef Nargisse Benkabbou, creator of Casablanca: My Moroccan Meals, chops them very thinly, “till they’re paste-like” and provides to curries, seafood and fish traybakes, and even guacamole, so as to add “a aromatic kick”. They’re additionally superb in pasta sauces, Benkabbou says, together with her go-to being alfredo – considered one of Italy’s creamiest, which is made by mixing melted butter, typically double cream, grated parmesan and black pepper.
Different methods for Joseph to work via that jar, Tamimi says, is to include chopped lemon in dumplings earlier than nestling them in a stew, whereas their “virtually unique dimension” makes them superb for salsas (alongside herbs and chilli) to accompany fish or hen. Then, for the luckiest dips, Ravinder Bhogal, in a earlier Guardian recipe, blends cooked (frozen or, when the time comes, contemporary) peas with garlic, mint and preserved lemon rind. With the motor working, she then trickles in extra-virgin olive oil, seasons and tops with quick-pickled radishes and a few crumbled feta. “A butterbean dip with a bit of preserved lemon and cooked garlic would even be very nice,” Tamimi provides. “Or, make a dairy dip, corresponding to cucumber, yoghurt, a little bit of preserved lemon and a few dill. And on and on you go …”
A extra radical strategy, although, can be to lean in direction of the candy aspect. In Dessert Individual, Claire Saffitz harnesses the savoury nature of preserved lemons by mixing the rinds with Greek yoghurt, vanilla, and contemporary lemon juice and zest, earlier than including that to her batter for a lemon meringue cake. Tamimi, in the meantime, is “dying” to attempt preserved lemon in an ice-cream or sorbet: “Now, that can be pretty.” You bought the news right here first.
