home grown

There is an abundance of citrus where we live at the moment, our lemon tree's can hardly take the weight of the fruit!

I love preserved lemons and as the slow food movement is gathering steam, as people are becoming a little more aware of consumption, lets not let one delectable yellow gem go to waste!

So many things to do with them, see below for a delightful preserved lemon recipe... 

ingredients

8 thin skinned juicy lemons

cold water

rock salt

large glass screw-top jar

6 cardamom pods

3 bay leaves

boiling water

Scrape the lemons gently against the medium setting of grater to open the pores a little, be sure not to zest it all away then place them in a large bowl and cover completely with cold water. Cover and set aside overnight somewhere cool.

Pour the water off the lemons {removing any residual bitterness} then cover with fresh water, again set aside somewhere cool to leave overnight.

On the third day, pour off the water then with a sharp knife create four deep slits in each lemon {about half way to the centre of the fruit} then pack each incision with a good heaped teaspoon of rock salt.

Place the beautifully stuffed lemons in a sterilised glass jar, add cardamom pods and bay leaves. Pour boiling water over contents and screw on lid while the water is still hot then leave them be for 40 days in a cool dark place.

{ great with fish, for summer salads, tagines, you name it }

Yum!