If you live in Southern California, it is a crime to not have a lemon tree. I mean this literally – trucks of inspectors drive around checking people’s yards out. I was outside my front door one day and the local county fruit inspector stopped by to check. I passed inspection. Whew – I won’t have to be next to hardened criminals this time around.  When they say I’ll be serving 4-6, they mean hungry inmates, not years.

One thing that I learned about several years ago was “Preserved Lemons”. These are lemons pickled in salt and their own juice. It’s apparently big in the Mediterranean and North African areas, not that I’ve been there or actually know that.

The thing is this – you can buy these lemons at a specialty market for $5 a jar, or you can make 10 jars for about $1.  I’ve had a jar in my fridge for several years and use it whenever the mood strikes me.

Ingredients:

As always, I cannot be precise, nor would I want to be. LarryLand lemons are pretty good and juicy; you may need more or less. Salt is Salt – use what you need but don’t go overboard.

• 5-7 lemons
• Approx 1/3 cup salt

Recipe:

First, you have to wash the lemons really, Really, REALLY thoroughly in LarryLand Fruit Wash (1/2 cup cheap white vinegar and 1 ½ cup water).  Then quarter 4 or so lemons.

Put a bit of salt in the bottom of a clean jar. Add some lemons, preferably skin side up. Push these down to release the juice; I like to use a bar muddler for this job. Be gentle.

Alternate with a bit of salt and more lemons, to layer this out. Fill the jar.

Depending on the lemons, you may need to top it off with some salt and some additional lemon juice.

Leave it on the counter for a few days to start the pickling process.  I’ve heard up to 30 days, but that’s silly. I tried a long period and found that it started to get mold, so… put it in the fridge!  It’ll keep for about a year.

How to Use:

First, understand the taste – It is very strong lemon taste and very salty.  Always try to rinse some of the salt off under a bit of running water.

Then understand the texture. The skin becomes soft and is very edible when cut into strips or small pieces. The pulp becomes very mushy and dissolves easily.

Think of this as a substitute for capers or olives. You get an acidic, strong, salty lemon taste.  So, you can add it anywhere you might consider adding these flavors.

A few things I’ve tried.

1)  As an alternative to bruschetta. See my recipe for Roasted Tomato and Preserve Lemon Spread.

2)  Making a tomato sauce, with lots of green olives and onions.  You can spoon this over a grilled fish or cook chicken thighs or shrimp in it.

3)  As a chicken wing sauce.  I took a couple of tablespoons of Harissa (Middle Eastern Chili sauce) with some of the preserved lemons and oil.  Blend this out to a paste, marinate chicken wings in it, and grill it.  Served with a yogurt sauce such as Tzatziki it’s pretty darned good.