Chicken with preserved lemons

len said:

Mandatory step: preserved lemons

* take a lemon, cut it almost in half, but leave the 2 parts
joint. Do the same think on a perpendicular direction. This will leave
you a lemon cut in 4 pieces but still tied together by the lemon skin.
* add as much salt as possible
* put in a glass jar which has a way to seal the content (like a
metal cap)
* prepare other lemons in the same way and put them in the glass
jar (as much lemons as it can fit). I managed to fit 6 lemons in a 1l
glass jar.
* add lemon juice (from other lemons) until all the lemons in the
jar are emerged
* add some extra salt
* fit the cap and seal the jar
* each 1-2 days for about a weak add more salt (this is one step I
forgot)
* leave in a dry, cool and dark place for 4-6 weeks.

I'm sure this works, but I really like it when the preserved lemon
recipe specifies the exact amount of salt. I've seen recipes
of both sorts and it's much more reliable to measure the salt.
At least for me.

Steve

(Steve Pope) said:

len said:

Mandatory step: preserved lemons

Quoted message said:

* take a lemon, cut it almost in half, but leave the 2 parts
joint. Do the same think on a perpendicular direction. This will leave
you a lemon cut in 4 pieces but still tied together by the lemon skin.
* add as much salt as possible
* put in a glass jar which has a way to seal the content (like a
metal cap)
* prepare other lemons in the same way and put them in the glass
jar (as much lemons as it can fit). I managed to fit 6 lemons in a 1l
glass jar.
* add lemon juice (from other lemons) until all the lemons in the
jar are emerged
* add some extra salt
* fit the cap and seal the jar
* each 1-2 days for about a weak add more salt (this is one step I
forgot)
* leave in a dry, cool and dark place for 4-6 weeks.

I'm sure this works, but I really like it when the preserved lemon
recipe specifies the exact amount of salt. I've seen recipes
of both sorts and it's much more reliable to measure the salt.
At least for me.

Steve

I would say I've added about 3/4 of a 250 ml cup of salt to 1l glass
jar of preserved lemons.

len said:

Chicken with preserved lemons and couscous

Ever since I returned from a few days trip to Morocco I have tried to
reproduce a dish which I liked a lot there: chicken with preserved
lemons. I had several unsuccessful tries with fresh lemons but the
result was too sour. So in order to prepare this dish I required
preserved lemons.

So did using preserved lemons reproduce the dish?

len said:

Chicken with preserved lemons and couscous

most snipped...

I make preserved lemons by first slicing the lemons into quarters -
without cutting all the way through the end. keeping the lemon in one
piece. I put a bunch of kosher salt in between the cut edges and
place into a glass jar. I can fit between 4-6 in the jar that I use.
I add more salt to the jar and fill to the top with bottled lemon
juice. I probably use about 2 Tablespoons per lemon and then maybe
sprinkle about a quarter of a cup of salt

I keep it the jar in the fridge - ahaking it up every so often. They
are ready to use in about a month.

This is the way my Moroccan sister in law does it. You really need A
LOT of lemons to fill the jar if you used fresh. Lemons aren't cheap
around here - usually 2 for a buck if you're lucky, and the bottled
stuff works fine.

The chicken recipe was just plain strange. A tablespoon of ginger? I
assume ground dried not fresh. That is way too much IMNSHO.

Tracy

I've been reading this thread with interest. Preserved lemons sounds
like something I could make, and I love the Morroccan food I've gotten
in restaurants, so I should try this. But I've got to ask, what does
treating the lemons with salt and aging them in a jar do to them? How
does it change the taste? Why isn't plain lemon juice with salt added
the same thing? Also, they're ready to use in a month, but how long do
they last after a month? I don't plan my meals that far in advance.
I'd hate to go to the trouble of preserving the lemons, then find that I
didn't feel making Morroccan chicken for a while and have them go to waste.

--Lia

stark said:

len said:

Chicken with preserved lemons and couscous

Quoted message said:

Ever since I returned from a few days trip to Morocco I have tried to
reproduce a dish which I liked a lot there: chicken with preserved
lemons. I had several unsuccessful tries with fresh lemons but the
result was too sour. So in order to prepare this dish I required
preserved lemons.

So did using preserved lemons reproduce the dish?

Yes, the result was not sour at all. It also felt very refreshing,
seems like a dish you can eat even when it's very hot.

Julia Altshuler said:

I've been reading this thread with interest. Preserved lemons sounds
like something I could make, and I love the Morroccan food I've gotten
in restaurants, so I should try this. But I've got to ask, what does
treating the lemons with salt and aging them in a jar do to them? How
does it change the taste? Why isn't plain lemon juice with salt added
the same thing? Also, they're ready to use in a month, but how long do
they last after a month? I don't plan my meals that far in advance.
I'd hate to go to the trouble of preserving the lemons, then find that I
didn't feel making Morroccan chicken for a while and have them go to waste.

--Lia

They last a long time - kept in the fridge. You can make as many as
you want depending on the size of the jar.
I can't really describe the difference in flavor - lemony without the
sour maybe?
I have used fresh lemon when I don't have any preserved. The flavor
is good, just not the same.

-Tracy

Tracy said:

On May 8, 6:22 pm, len <[email hidden]> wrote:> Chicken with preserved lemons and couscous

most snipped...

I make preserved lemons by first slicing the lemons into quarters -
without cutting all the way through the end. keeping the lemon in one
piece. I put a bunch of kosher salt in between the cut edges and
place into a glass jar. I can fit between 4-6 in the jar that I use.
I add more salt to the jar and fill to the top with bottled lemon
juice. I probably use about 2 Tablespoons per lemon and then maybe
sprinkle about a quarter of a cup of salt

I keep it the jar in the fridge - ahaking it up every so often. They
are ready to use in about a month.

This is the way my Moroccan sister in law does it. You really need A
LOT of lemons to fill the jar if you used fresh. Lemons aren't cheap
around here - usually 2 for a buck if you're lucky, and the bottled
stuff works fine.

When I bought the lemons here they where cheaper by the kg than
apples. However there was not much choice, only a single type of
lemons, with a very thick skin, and they are around 6 per kg.

Quoted message said:

The chicken recipe was just plain strange. A tablespoon of ginger? I
assume ground dried not fresh. That is way too much IMNSHO.

Yes, dried, fresh ginger is hard to find here, but I find some sachets
in the supermarket with dried one.

Quoted message said:

Tracy

I'va added a photo with the lemons jar. Here it is:
http://www.len.ro/cooking/preparation-photo-details/preserved_lemons_jar_web.jpg/view
Don't know how much they will last. When I first added them I was sure
in about a week they will be rotten but the salt preserved them. Now
that I have opened the jar I have put it in the fridge, I hope they
will last at least one more month. Now that I have tested the recipe I
cannot wait to invite some friends in the weekend and will prepare
this for them. If you would only consider the color and this is
already something very different from what we eat daily here.

Julia Altshuler said:

I've been reading this thread with interest. Preserved lemons sounds
like something I could make, and I love the Morroccan food I've gotten
in restaurants, so I should try this. But I've got to ask, what does
treating the lemons with salt and aging them in a jar do to them? How
does it change the taste? Why isn't plain lemon juice with salt added
the same thing? Also, they're ready to use in a month, but how long do
they last after a month? I don't plan my meals that far in advance.
I'd hate to go to the trouble of preserving the lemons, then find that I
didn't feel making Morroccan chicken for a while and have them go to waste.

--Lia

len said:

I would say I've added about 3/4 of a 250 ml cup of salt.....

I would say you need to take a remedial math class.

nb

len wrote on 9 May 2007 00:03:21 -0700:

l> On May 9, 1:29 am, [email hidden] (Steve Pope)
wrote:
??>> len <[email hidden]> wrote:
??>>> Mandatory step: preserved lemons

You *can* buy jars of preserved lemons and I think I've seen
them at "olive bar" in Whole Foods.

??>> I'm sure this works, but I really like it when the
??>> preserved lemon recipe specifies the exact amount of salt.
??>> I've seen recipes of both sorts and it's much more
??>> reliable to measure the salt. At least for me.
??>>
??>> Steve

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

E-mail, with obvious alterations:
not.jim.silverton.at.comcast.not

James Silverton not.jim.siverton.at.comcast.not said:

You *can* buy jars of preserved lemons and I think I've seen
them at "olive bar" in Whole Foods.

Sure, they just aren't any good compared to ones you make
yourself. By a wide margin.

Steve

Steve wrote on Wed, 9 May 2007 16:06:03 +0000 (UTC):

??>> You *can* buy jars of preserved lemons and I think I've
??>> seen them at "olive bar" in Whole Foods.

SP> Sure, they just aren't any good compared to ones you make
SP> yourself. By a wide margin.

So, everyone always says :-) I have made preserved lemons and,
as a recipe component, I don't agree (IMHO, of course).

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

E-mail, with obvious alterations:
not.jim.silverton.at.comcast.not

On May 9, 8:04 pm, "James Silverton"

not.jim.silverton.at.comcast.not said:

Steve wrote on Wed, 9 May 2007 16:06:03 +0000 (UTC):

??>> You *can* buy jars of preserved lemons and I think I've
??>> seen them at "olive bar" in Whole Foods.

SP> Sure, they just aren't any good compared to ones you make
SP> yourself. By a wide margin.

So, everyone always says :-) I have made preserved lemons and,
as a recipe component, I don't agree (IMHO, of course).

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

E-mail, with obvious alterations:
not.jim.silverton.at.comcast.not

I would love to buy them, unfortunately I live in Romania and here you
cannot find such things. I fact before my trip to Morocco I could not
even imagine they exist.

Len