Salt-Cured Preserved Lemons

Salt highlights the rich oils found in lemon peel in this recipe for preserved lemons. Use them in any dish that needs a salty, umami kick. I like to think of them as tiny olives or capers. Once the salt cure is complete, remove the spent lemon flesh and mince the preserved lemon peels finely, sprinkling them over pasta or potatoes with herbs, or blend them into soups, dressings and sauces.

12 or more Meyer, Lisbon or Eureka lemons ½ teaspoon salt per lemon

Choose fresh, firm lemons for this recipe. Slice the blossom and stem ends off of each lemon. Then, nearly quarter each fruit; slice it lengthwise almost down to the bottom, but leave just enough flesh so that the lemon now looks like a tulip flower, 4 citrus “petals” joined at the base.

Hold this lemon “flower” in your hand and sprinkle some salt into it. Recipes vary widely, from 1/8 to 1 teaspoon salt for each lemon, but I aim roughly for ¼ teaspoon salt per Meyer lemon and ½ teaspoon salt for the larger Eureka or Lisbon varieties. In a recipe like this, which is composed mostly of salt and acid, there is far more leeway than with other ingredients, which for food safety reasons may require stricter adherence to a balance of sugar, salt and acid.

Place each lemon into a pickling crock or Mason jar, the bottom of each lemon “tulip” resting in the open top of another. Periodically tamp the layers down, so that they fit tightly together, using a wooden muddler to release the juices from each layer as you go. Make sure that by the time the jar is full, the salty brine is covering the top layer of fruit. If necessary, use a glass or ceramic weight, a sterilized non-porous stone or a clean 4-ounce jelly jar to weigh the lemons down enough to keep them submerged in their brine.

Allow the lemons to ferment slowly on the counter at room temperature, out of direct sunlight, for approximately 8 weeks before tasting them. Because of their relatively high salt and acid content, they ferment much more slowly than other cultured foods. They are finished when their flavor is salty, with a mellow tartness and no bitterness to the rind. When the lemons are fermented to your liking, store in the refrigerator, where they will last for at least a year.