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Although it’s possible to buy citrons confits (preserved lemons) at Arabic markets in Paris, makingย Preserved Lemons couldn’t be easier to make and they taste fresher than anything you can buy. I forage through the mounds of lemons at my market in pursuit of the smallest citrus possible.

But you may be lucky to have a friend with a lemon tree and they’re probably more than happy to let you take a few off their hands… although none of my friends in Paris seem to have lemon trees growing in their apartments, unfortunately. And if you live where Meyer Lemons are available, by all means feel free to use them instead of the more common Eureka lemons.

I like to finely dice preserved lemons and mix them with sautรฉed vegetables, such as green beans, fava beans, or to elevate lowly rounds of carrots into something interesting and exotic, perhaps tossing in a few cumin seeds as well. They’re also good mashed into butter with some fresh herbs, then smeared on top of grilled fish or a nice hunk of caramelized roasted winter squash. And I’ve been known to sneak some into a batch of tapenadeย too!

In addition to their ability to multi-task, there’s something comfortable and nice about having a jar of vivid lemons on the kitchen counter to keep tabs on their progress every morning, I like to keep an eye on my lemons daily, noticing how much juice they’re giving off, how soft they’re getting, and enjoying how they gently deflate and nestle themselves against each other as they settle nicely into the corners of the canning jar.

For a recent dinner party, I made one of my favorite recipes, Israeli Couscous With Roasted Butternut Squash and Preserved Lemon to go with the Lamb Tagine that I cooked the day before…which made entertaining fifteen ravenous friends a breeze. But do take care when adding them to a recipe; hold back on adding salt since the preserved lemons will add some salty flavor.

I recommend using organic or unsprayed lemons since you’re going to be eating the entire fruit. I generally do 8-10 lemons at a time, but be sure to buy a few extra lemons for juicing a couple of days later, in case you need to add additional liquid to keep the lemons in the jar submerged while they ‘do their thing’. And never use ordinary table salt, which has a harsh, chemical taste and avoid iodized salt as well. (Check the ingredients to make sure your salt is pure.) I recommend white sea salt or kosher salt, but have made these with grey sea salt, which is commonly found in France.

Moroccan Preserved Lemons

Course Side Dish
Servings 12
  • 8 medium lemons, preferably organic or unsprayed
  • 1/2 cup kosher or sea salt, (not iodized)
  • freshly squeezed lemon juice from two lemons
  • Scrub the lemons with a vegetable brush and dry them off.
  • Cut off the little rounded bit at the stem end if thereโ€™s a hard little piece of the stem attached. From the other end of the lemon, make a large cut by slicing lengthwise downward, stopping about 1-inch (3 cm) from the bottom, then making another downward slice, so youโ€™ve incised the lemon with an X shape.
  • Pack coarse salt into the lemon where you made the incisions. Donโ€™t be skimpy with the salt: use about 1 tablespoon per lemon. Depending on the size of the lemons, you may not use all the salt.
  • Put the salt-filled lemons in a clean, large glass jar with a tight-fitting lid, squeezing them in as tightly as possible to get the juices flowing. You can add a few coriander seeds, a bay leaf or two, a dried chili, some peppercorns, or a cinnamon stick if you want. (Or a combination of any of them, or leave them out.) Add the juice to two lemons
  • Cover and let stand overnight in a cool place, but not the refrigerator.
  • The next day do the same, pressing the lemons down, encouraging them to release more juice as they start to soften. Repeat for a 2-3 days until the lemons are completely covered with liquid. If your lemons arenโ€™t completely submerged, add additional freshly-squeezed lemon juice until they are completely submerged.
  • After one month, when the preserved lemons are soft, theyโ€™re ready to use. Store the lemons in the refrigerator, where theyโ€™ll keep for at least 6 months. Rinse before using to remove excess salt.

Notes

To use: Remove lemons from the liquid and rinse. Split in half and scrape out the pulp. Slice the lemon peels into thin strips or cut into small dices. You may wish to press the pulp through a sieve to obtain the tasty juice, which can be used for flavoring as well, then discard the innards.

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Israeli Couscous with Butternut Squash and Preserved Lemons

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22 comments

    • matt

    I love love love LOVE love LOVE love love preserved lemons. Did I mention how much I love them?

    Plus that silky, smooth liquid is fantastic in bloody marys. Or so I’ve heard :)

    • Debbie

    I started doing these from Paula Wolfert’s Moroccan cookbook about 15 years ago, and they work! (I shouldn’t have been so surprised) Pickled lemons are a decent substitute for achar, too. My latest jar is 8 years old (I was undecided) and I finally started using it this year for a knockout red lentil dal. The lemons were fine. The only thing I’d add is never fish the lemons out with fingers–only a very clean fork. If you add extra lemon juice and salt and a little olive oil to the top of the jar when you first put them in and get out any air bubbles, you don’t have to reopen it and mess around, just set it upside down every other day or so that month (gotta trust your seals, though).

    • Danielle

    Preserved lemons are the best. I have a batch made with regular organic lemons that we’ve been using, and another batch with meyer lemons that’s in the process of curing now. I’m really looking forward to comparing them once the meyers are ready to eat.

    • David

    Matt: What’s a Bloody Mary?

    Sounds intriguing..
    ; )

    Debbie: You’re a better person that I, canning the lemons. Mine never last that long (8 years?!) I use my fingers although some people do say to sterilize the jar first, and use a fork. But I’ve been accused of being germ-phobic

    Danielle: Let us know how your Meyers turn out. Their thin skins leads me to think they might get a bit too soft, and their sweetness might make them lose some of their ‘bite’, so I’m interested in hearing back.

    Kitty Morse, the Moroccan cookbook author uses them for hers, though, so I hope we’ll be pleasantly surprised with your results.

    • Robert

    David,

    I have, since 1976, used a Moroccan-Jewish recipe from Safi which calls for spices such as you have indicated. I dragged home a big glass jar of (unspiced) lemons from Tangier long ago. Not worth the the considerable effort. Mine have always tasted better but I was disappointed in my preserved Myer lemons. The skin was too thin, I felt. I have a tree laden with ripening Myer lemons but none will be preserved this year. Too scarce, too rare, too sweet a treat to be salted down and mercilessly mooshed into a Mason jar. I guess I take the garden-variety low road when it comes to preserving lemons.

    How is it that the pan juices from a chicken roasted with preserved lemon are so very satin-y? Strangely wonderful chemistry at work there.

    Happy New Year!

    • Nicole

    I bought a Moroccan cookbook several months ago and I’ve been thinking about trying the preserved lemons. I’ve never tasted one so I don’t really know what I’m missing. But your post has definitely convinced me to try making some! Thanks!

    • barb

    david, thanks so much for this….my mouth was absolutely watering from your picture and recipe…can’t wait to try it, although from the comment from robert above, i will not “waste” the meyer lemons that i have just scored, but use ‘regular’ ones…

    now what might be the best use for the meyers? maybe some yummy lemon squares? any suggestions welcome :)

    • Abra

    Oh, but I preserve Meyers, and still have some left from last winter. They’re not at all mushy after almost a year in the fridge, and they’re still utterly delicious. So just a voice of dissent here, for what it’s worth.

    Happy belated birthday, David.

    • Debbie

    Hi again David–I didn’t can the lemons under heat or vacuum or anything, I’m not that good either. Don’t know what the heat would do to them–probably spoil them faster by breaking the cells down without saturating the salt throughout. I did pour boiling water over the mason jar parts first–lab training or kibbutz kitchen mythology, who knows? (quick! boil the fingers!) Re previous posts, I hope you had a great birthday and have recovered from the chocolate-sated Kouign Amann I picture as your ideal cake (ok, so that’s nightmarish or sacrilegious or something).

    • Sigrid

    It’s great you remind me of these… the lemons on my roman garden are almost ready so…we’ll have some great tagine around next year for sure! :-)
    Auguri & Buon Anno!

    • Katie

    I’m inspired to make preserved lemons – I can/pickle/freeze lots of foods but have never tried these. I love lemon in almost everything (not chocolate).
    Quick and painless way to sterilize jars is to wash them, then put them in a 125C (250F) oven for 10 minutes. They are easier to handle if not dripping with boiling water.
    Happy New Year~!

    • Lil

    *shuffles off to buy a jar and a few more lemons*

    • Julie

    Despite my love of preserved lemons, I’ve never yet made my own. So I guess I do have *another* resolution to add to the list — yes, I’m actually making resolutions this year. But I have reason to do so — not sanity, but reason. Happy belated birthday, and wishes for all things good in the new year…

    • mimi

    You know, ever since I read this post I’ve been having a jones for lemon this and lemon that (to paraphrase my favorite musician, Boz Scaggs.) Guess I’ll have to go make something lemony, if not preserved lemons. Thanks, David.

    (Katie, chocolate and lemon – is that a challenge?)

    • Erika Waz

    Oh my… I was recently gifted with a jar of preserved lemons, and I’ve been holding off on using them, I’m afraid to waste a precious bite. It never occurred to me to try making my own. Thanks for sharing!

    • Diva

    David… lemons are much better than sea monkeys!

    Although I have never tasted a sea monkey….
    I learned to do mine in slices, from a Moroccan girl nearby where I am in Tuscany, she also mentioned that her mom sometimes freezes the lemons to speed them along.

    I use extra virgin olive oil to cover the top too, and preserve them even just a little more!
    I don’t throw away the lemon part, but also use it in my dishes.

    It does give a real WOW to anything it is served with.

    • vanessa

    I’ve always wanted the recipe for this! Thanks.

    • miolicagirl

    I’ve usually make preserved lemons with Meyer lemons and have not found them to be too mushy at all. They’re very simple to make and I use Kosher salt-never tried sea salt though. I use them in salad dressings, aioli, and tapenade. For New Year’s dinner I made a relish with currants, pine nuts, pomegranate seeds, onions, balsamic vinegar and preserved lemons and served it with grilled marinated quail–yummy — served over a bed of arugula with pomegranate molasses dressing (recipe modified from Sunday Suppers at Lucques by Suzanne Goin). Have a great New Years David and
    thanks for your suggestions for chocolate places in Bayonne-also found some magnificent pates de fruits and Gateau Basque there.

    • Meg

    David, you DO have a friend in Paris who has a fruit-bearing lemon tree in her apartment: me! Unfortunately, though, it’s a small tree and the output is not enough for both of us. I’ll share my preserved lemons with you the next time you are over, though, as you so kindly shared the recipe!!

    Happy birthday!

    • Gigi

    I am definitely going to try this…my mouth is watering already. Bit of a Lemon Virgin though – I have no idea what a Meyer is and how it differs from a Eureka (whatever that is)

    • Cin

    i made some preserved lemons at the end of last year when a friend offered a few branches full of lemons. i recently used some in a chicken, olive and preserved lemon tagine – yummmm!
    thanks for ideas on how else i can use them.

    • Judith in Umbria

    It is so wonderful to see experienced chefs with some clout publish basics with which people can make ingredients. In the flurry of gussied up recipes and exquisite photography, it sometimes is forgotten that the bechamel must be conquered before the “Citrus and liver with ginger slices and chocolate nibs soufflรฉ” is attempted.
    Preserved lemons can open doors to worlds not previously dreamed. Good on you, David!
    (I shall wait for the imminent arrival of Sorrento lemons with no crap on the skin!)

A

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