Moroccan Preserved Lemons

Moroccan Preserved Lemons

Preserved lemons are a traditional North African condiment where the sour and salty flavour adds a distinct taste to everyday cooking - here I am using it Raw Style.

Preserved lemons are rich in lactic-acid producing bacteria, and delicious giving a light, clean flavour to foods, sauces, and they make an excellent condiment. Both the flesh and rind of the lemon become edible once they have been fermented.

2-1/2 pounds lemons, (preferably Meyer lemons)

1/4 cup unrefined sea salt

·       Trim the ends off lemons, taking care not to cut into the flesh and then slice the lemons as if to quarter them - keeping the base of the lemon intact.

·       Sprinkle the interior of the lemons with unrefined sea salt then layer in your Mason jar, crock or fermentation device. Sprinkle with unrefined sea salt then mash with a wooden spoon or dowel until the rinds of the lemon begin to soften and the lemons release their juice which should combine with the salt to create a brine conducive to the proliferation of beneficial bacteria.

·       Continue mashing, salting and mashing until your lemons fill the jar and rest below the level of the brine

·       Ferment at room temperature for three to four weeks, and transfer jar to the refrigerator

·       Lemons can be kept for one to two years