Salt Preserved Lemons

A mix of black, green and red peppercorns
and some Turkish Bay Leaves

Pickled, or preserved lemons are a staple in North Africa and the Middle East.  The lemons are used as an ingredient in all kinds of dishes, or as a treat by themselves. They take about a month to peak in flavor, so you need to plan ahead if you want to use them for a specific dish. There are many variations of spices that can be used. Moroccans add cinnamon sticks, coriander or chili; Egyptians use Nigella seeds, and I've seen lemons preserved with star anise and fennel. Purists don't add any spice at all and just enjoy the natural flavor of the salt and lemon.

I am making a double batch of these lemons because I plan to use them for everything. I went with a simple bay leaf and peppercorn mix. (I find that when preserved in cinnamon or other strong flavors, it doesn't pair as well with fish.)  Feel free to halve the recipe for one quart-sized jar (6 lemons).

I used Meyer Lemons, which have a delicate lemon flavor and are used a lot in desserts. They are smaller lemons and their rinds absorb the flavor of the salt and spices really well. If you can't get your hands on Meyer lemons, any lemons will do. If you have lemons with particularly thick rinds, you may want to quickly blanch them first.

For my double batch I used:

A dozen Meyer Lemons

Extra lemon juice (8-10 lemons)*

1-2 cups Kosher salt

4 bay leaves

1 tsp peppercorns

To start off, wash and scrub your hands and the lemons and sterilize your jars. Because the lemons will spend the first week of their journey at room temperature, you want to avoid any bacteria contamination.

Cut the stems off the lemon tips and "almost" quarter the lemons the long way, meaning, start to quarter them and stop about 1/2 inch from the bottom, so they look like flowers.

Using your [clean] fingers, rub about 2 teaspoons of salt in each lemon, making sure to get all the openings.

Squish the lemons into your jars and add 2 bay leaves and 1/2 tsp peppercorns per jar (or whatever spice you plan to use.) Cover the lemons completely with lemon juice.

*This is where I cheat. Meyer lemons are NOT CHEAP. So for the extra lemon juice to cover the lemons, I buy about 10 cheaper lemons and use that for the extra juice. The real reason for the Meyers is the rind, so the juice is less important.




Don't forget to label and date your jars so you know when they are ready! The rule of thumb is to let them sit about a week at room temperature. During this time, shake them up a bit, even turn them upside down, just don't open them. After a week, put them in the fridge. They will be ready in a month and they will keep anywhere from 6 months to a year.

Once they are ready, you serve them cut up and add them to a nice mix of olives and pickled treats for cocktail hour.

Once you have this awesome ingredient, play with some recipes. Add them into your favorite dishes for a kicked-up lemon flavor. Here are some fun ones to try:

Fettuccine with Preserved Lemon and Roasted Garlic

Grilled Wild Salmon with Preserved Lemon Relish

Chicken Braised with Preserved Lemons and Cinnamon

Moroccan Lamb Stew with Preserved Lemons

A Spicy Treasure Right Here in DC

Today I checked out the new Union Market in DC to see what all the fuss is about. The New York Times just named the market one of the 46 Places to Go in 2013.

The market is filled with fun treats like local farm-fresh produce, cheese and meat, smoked fish... But the real jewel for anyone who loves cooking, baking, preserving, or pickling is Bazaar Spices.  I have been waiting for a place like this to come to the district!

Monica Grover-Fitzgerald and her husband Ivan own the small boutique spice shop and offer spices from all over the world. Hungarian Paprika, Fresh cardamom pods, turmeric root (I had never seen the actual root), and over a dozen salts in every color of the rainbow.  The spice shop had spice blends from India, Ethiopia, Turkey, and all across the Middle East.  All around were jars with "smell me" written on them.  Very Alice in Wonderland and very fun. For someone like me, who comes home from traveling with suitcases reeking of spice, this was a little slice of heaven.

Monica surrounded by her spices

Smelling the spices really gives you a sense of the quality. Their cinnamon almost knocked me over!

I am well aware of the fact that I have not blogged (or pickled) in quite some time... so I bought some of their pickling spice mix to inspire me, as well as a lovely pepper I had never heard of called Urfa, which promised me a raisin-like smoky flavor perfect for kebobs.

The boutique is offering fun events like a salt tasting and a Valentine's day introduction to aphrodisiac spices... Glad to have this addition to the District. Check it out!

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