Lemon Preserves
The other day I was looking at a Moroccan Chicken with Olives and Lemon Preservers to cook in my Tagine. It sounded such a wonderful recipe that I went out to get some of the ingredients. But for the life of me could I get hold of the Preserved Lemons. I then got to thinking well how difficult can they be to make, in fact as it turned out they are quite simple to make the only catch for me on this occasion was that I had to wait a month before you could use them.This did not deter me and I set about doing the lemon preserves and the dish would have to wait till they were ready.
Ingredients
3 unwaked lemons
1 1/2 tbs of salt - I have used Anglesey Sea Salt or any quality crystallized salt will do
Water to cover.
You can use optional extra's such as cinnamon sticks, cloves, coriander seeds, black peppercorn or bay leaves. I didn't use these on this occasion as I just wanted to see how they turned out but by adding them you are increasing the flavour and they also look good enough to give as presents.
Place in the jar and repeat, adding a bit more salt to each layer until the jar is full
Pour some boiling water onto the lemons until the jar is full, then seal.
Place on a shelve out of direct sunlight for a few days. Two or three times per day just give the jar a gentle shake to mix. Then place in the fridge for a month.
After a month the lemons can be used. Discard the flesh and cut the rind into strips or dice and add as instructed to any dish. It definitely adds to the flavour and colour of the Moroccan Chicken dish I eventually got to cook. (Recipe to follow soon)
