Morrocan-Style Preserved Lemons

From my Gourmet Cookbook

Makes: about 48 pieces
Active time:15 min
Start to finish:5 days

Preserved lemons are perhaps most at home in Moroccan dishes, but we love their complex, bright flavor and aroma in all kinds of soups, stews, and salads. We’ve adapted Mediterranean-food authority Paul Wolfert’s quick method and made it even faster by blanching the lemons first. Save the pulp for bloody Marys or anything else enlivened by a little lemon juice and salt. If you manage to find Meyer lemons, this is a great way to capture their unforgettable taste and perfume.

10 to 12 lemons (2 1/2 to 3 lb)
2/3 cup kosher salt
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Equipment: a (4- to) 6-cup jar with a tight-fitting lid

Blanch 6 lemons in boiling water 5 minutes, then drain. Cut each lemon into 8 wedges and discard seeds. Toss with kosher salt in a bowl, then firmly pack with salt into jar.
Squeeze lemon juice from remaining lemons to measure 1 cup. Add enough juice to cover lemons and screw on lid. Let stand at room temperature, shaking jar gently once a day, 5 days. Add oil to lemons and chill, covered.

Cooks’ note: Lemons keep, chilled, 1 year.

RESULTS: In case you're wondering, lemons were on sale at Kroger. I bought a lot. Not the fancy-pants meyer lemons, I've never heard of those.

I think most of what I have to say about this recipe is about mechanics. First of all, my cookbook says to use a 6-cup jar. All I had was a 4-cup jar (from store-bought spaghetti sauce), so I thought I'd just do 2/3rds of the amounts for everything, but it was Saturday morning, and my tea hadn't enough kick for me to do the math, so I just decided to make it easier and do half the recipe and just have room at the top. The problem is that lemons float, so in order for everything to be submerged, I had to add a LOT of juice, and then that got me worried about the salt-juice ratio, and I was using sea salt instead of kosher salt anyway so it was already a little screwy.... anyway. I think it turned out mostly the way it's supposed to, but I've never had a Moroccan-style preserved lemon so it's hard to say. Take my advice, just follow the recipe the way it's written, don't try to get fancy with fractions and what not. Besides, I just now found this recipe on the Gourmet magazine website where they say to use a 4- to 6-cup jar. NOW they tell me! Sheesh.

You're probably wondering, "why would you preserve a lemon? They're readily available year round!" which is exactly the question Chris asked me as I was covered in lemon juice and sea salt. (By the way, don't make this recipe if you have any recent cuts or scrapes on your hands. Trust me.) I've seen a few recipes that call for preserved lemons and I intend to try them, but I also like just a couple wedges cut up small in salads, and the juice makes a good salad dressing with a little extra olive oil and pepper. The rind gets rather soft, and the lemons seem to have gotten more sour and rather briny... basically, they taste just like you would think they taste based on the recipe.