Moroccan Preserved Lemons

Everyone has their preferred method, and swears by his or hers. I encourage you to get your feet wet, try it, and adapt the basics to fit you. Many in my Moroccan family goes by thick-skinned lemons, while others swear by Meyer. Some recipes call to leave them whole, halved, or quartered. I tend to stick with family tradition.⁣⁣

These beauties take little time to prepare, and give your food warmth and depth for up to a year to come. They can amp up anything from dressings to fish, chicken, dips, dressings, mayo, and more.⁣⁣
My preference is slices, as they lend themselves to ease of use for measurement in recipes. Another way to customize this is to add herbs, or spices to the jar. Here I went with organic Meyer lemons and rosemary. Get WILD and have fun.⁣⁣ Dill, Thyme, Clove, Star Anise…you can get really creative.

These make EXCELLENT gifts for the holidays. It’s citrus season, the jars are beautiful, and it’s very inexpensive to make. I do an extensive assembly line with at least 20 jars in November to get ready for Holiday giving! If you really want to wow people, you can grab extra pretty jars like these Weck Jars.

Moroccan Preserved Lemons

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• Author: Stephanie Stanley

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Ingredients

• Salt (My preference is Kosher Redmond Real Salt)⁣⁣
• Approximately 4 medium lemons”*⁣⁣ per 8 ounce jar

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Instructions

1. STERILIZE glass jar(s)
2. ⁣⁣SLICE lemons of choice into ½” thick slices
3. ⁣⁣PLACE cut lemon slice onto a plate layered in salt, flip
4. LAYER the generously covered salty slices into the glass jar, adding desired spices/herbs as you go
5. SMUSHLE the salted lemon layers as you place them in the jar, squeezing the juice out with your fingers
6. APPLY layer upon layer to the very tippy top- packing them in as tightly as possible
7. ADD lemon juice if necessary, but make sure that the lemons are completely covered in liquid
8. LEAVE the jar in a cool, dark place to ferment for a minimum of 4 days; I go for a week-10 days in my cool climate
9. SHAKE periodically during this fermenting time
10. BURP the jar daily during the fermenting time by loosening the ring around the lid to let out excess air
11. ADD 1 -2 tsp of extra virgin olive oil to the top of the jar and refrigerate for 3 weeks before use, shaking occasionally
12. KEEP for a long time. (I’ve used for up to a year!)⁣⁣

Notes

*Since you’re consuming the skin, I recommend buying organic lemons if you can. Organic Meyer lemons aren’t super easy accessible, but if you happen across them – do it!