Saturday, February 23, 2013

California Bounty

I'm sure y'all are noticing a theme in these last couple of posts. I love citrus, the more perfumy the better.

When I met up with Tien for dinner, she got out the ladder and harvested a box of meyer lemons for me to take home. Since I'm not eating sugar, I decided not to make marmalade like I did last year with another meyer lemon gift. Instead, I am making moroccan preserved lemons. They are brined like sauerkraut and will keep for months this way.

You just slice them into quarters or eighths, leaving one end attached, and pour a little salt inside the sliced lemons. Mash them in a jar and the brine levels will rise all on their own. In a few weeks they'll be mushy and fermented, ready to use.

Years ago a friend told me about this technique and served me a dish called Moroccan Lemon Chicken. It involved olives and spices to make a creamy, extremely lemony chicken dish. I can't wait to try it!

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