19 September 2012

PRESERVED LEMONS

I'm trying so hard to meet deadlines. There's a ton of work to be done and my editor at Random House should probably chain me to my desk.

Today I could not resist getting into my kitchen to deal with some lovely thin-skinned lemons a good friend had sent home for me. So now there's an enormous jar of preserved lemons sitting in the kitchen and we will have to wait a whole month before we can try them.

Here's the recipe, adjusted from Greg Malouf's lovely book, Moorish.

• 1.5kg thin skinned lemons
• 350g sea salt
• 1 tbsp lightly crushed coriander seeds
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 tbsps honey
• 250mls lemon juice
• 750mls warm water

Wash and dry the lemons. Cut them lengthways into quarters, from the point of the lemon to three-quarters way down. Leave them joined together at the base. Stuff the centre of each lemon with a heaped teaspoon of salt. Arrange them neatly in a 2 litre jar, sprinkling each layer with more salt and crushed coriander seed as you go. Stuff the cinnamon sticks and bay leaves into the jar. Mix the honey and lemon juice with the warm water until the honey dissolves. Pour into the jar so the lemons are completely covered. Screw the lid on and out the jar into a large pot on top of a piece of cardboard (this stops the jar vibrating.) Pour in enough hot water to come half way up the jar and bring it to the boil slowly. Boil for six minutes, then lift the jar out and store in a dry cool place for at least a month before opening. Once opened, keep in the refrigerator.