Want to stay up to date with this post? Log In or Sign Up to comment. Entertaining The Ultimate Guide to Thanksgiving by Kristin Donnelly The best way to cook a stress-free dinner is to think ahead, which is why we've created this comprehensive Trending Discussions. Updated 2 hours ago 19 comments. Thanksgiving Holidays Meal Planning. Thanksgiving Holidays Main Dish. Quick Links. Mary Ellen Snodgrass, author of the Encyclopedia of Kitchen History , traces their earliest reference to an 11th-century account of Arab Mediterranean cuisine that is, cuisine from Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco.
Jumay's recipe, now some nine centuries old, is almost exactly the recipe of today. According to Toby Sonneman's Lemon: A Global History , the recipe called for "slitting the fruit and filling the gashes with salt, then pressing them into a jar, covering with lemon juice and letting them ferment for weeks. Over the past thousand years, these salt-cured lemons have made a meandering journey north and west, joining the cuisines of Israel, Iran, Turkey, and India.
But it wasn't until far more recently that they began to appear in English-language cookbooks. And yet, despite making their way into some American pantries odd years ago, they have retained their aura of exoticism in the United States. Admony laughs as she tells the story of how, when she moved to New York in to work at Tabla, she showed her Tunisian-cum-Israeli style of preserved lemons to the restaurant's celebrated chef, Floyd Cardoz—in her estimation, a master of spices—and his kitchen staff "had no clue; they had never seen them before.
While you're most likely to find preserved lemons in traditional preparations—Algerian couscous dishes fragrant with olives and raisins, Indian curries, Tunisian chickpea stews, and, yes, the Moroccan chicken tagine—they're a worthy addition to a wide spectrum of meals. Depending on your neighborhood, or how far you're willing to travel, you can likely buy a jar of preserved lemons ready to eat.
It's just as easy, however, to make them yourself. The simplest and most delicious method calls for nothing more than lemons, salt, and patience our own take also adds a touch of sugar for sweetness. It goes like this: Start with a handful of lemons. Cut each fruit into quarters lengthwise, without slicing through the base, and transfer them to a large bowl, tossing them with salt and sugar, if using , before covering and refrigerating them overnight. The next day, the lemons will have released quite a bit of liquid, and you can transfer the entire contents of the bowl to a canning jar, pressing the lemons down firmly until they're completely submerged.
Seal the jar tightly and store it in a cool place for a month or longer—this is one of those things that get even better with age. The result is a lemon with a velvety peel and an intense yet mellow lemony character—whose "texture is soft and flavor is deep," says Sortun.
From there, the options are manifold. As a reference, olives call for the same percentage. A proper Indian pickled lemon calls for double that amount, as well as turmeric, fenugreek seeds, and chili powder. Or take a tip from Sortun, who encourages you to make a batch with fragrant, sweet Meyer lemons when they're in season. You can also add cloves, mustard seed, or mace—just a few of the spices popularized by the British in the 19th century.
She also lets her lemons ferment for a full three months. But if you're in a hurry, Paula Wolfert has a five-day pickled method. Admony notes that she's "even seen some chefs make a sous vide version in 12 hours," which, she laughs, isn't as good as the real thing, but certainly works in a pinch.
Three months—or even one—may seem like quite the time investment, but being, well, preserved , the cured lemons will last in the back of your fridge for up to a year. The answer is, yes! The microbes at work during lactic acid fermentation are responsible for the transformation of the lemons' flavor from sharp freshness to a complex and mellow tartness, while tenderizing the skin and pith until they are buttery-soft. You can use any lemons to make preserved lemon. When they are in season, we bottle Preserved Meyer Lemons to make the most of their juiciness and extra-scented, thin skins.
And if you don't want to wait weeks for preserved lemons to mature, cheat with our overnight recipe for Quick Preserved Lemons. Two tips: Scrub lemons well before preserving, and use good salt never iodized, as it can add an acrid quality to the brine.
Preserved lemons lend authenticity and a sense of place to specific dishes from Morocco like chicken tagine , Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt, as well as diaspora-inspired influences around the eastern Mediterranean.
Added to the tomato-y base of a hearty fish soup, preserved lemons transport it from the European side of the Mediterranean to the African shore in a flash. But preserved lemons are also a versatile ingredient that can be used in myriad of untraditional and creative ways: Sip a refreshing Preserved Lemon Spritzer where the assertive peel is muddled with sugar and topped with seltzer or substitute your favorite tonic.
Use preserved lemons to add body and edge to a rustic Pumpkin Soup with Pimenton. Chop and toss preserved lemon into a bowl of just-roasted root vegetables for a quick pick-me-up. Marinate halloumi with preserved lemons and olives before grilling the hearty cheese. Drizzle a spoonful of preserved lemon brine onto thick yogurt for a compelling dip or a topping for hot, baked potatoes.
A simple, soul-satisfying supper is our Pasta with Preserved Lemons and Anchovies. Preserved lemons complement roast lamb. Marie Viljoen, Freelance Writer.
0コメント