An easy recipe for authentic homemade Moroccan preserved limes that require only two ingredients – lemons and salt. The lemons need to cure for a month before they are ready to be used. Once opened, they keep in the fridge for up to a year.
Servings8 preserved lemons
Equipment
- A sterilised glass jar with a tight-fitting lid – large enough to hold all the lemons snuggly. I use a 1 litre (quart-sized) jar (or two smaller ones).
Ingredients
- 8 lemons, washed (see notes)
- 18 teaspoons salt, or more for large lemons
- ½ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, or as much as needed to cover the lemons completely
Instructions
- Take each lemon and cut off the leftover bit of stem. Make two perpendicular lengthwise cuts in the lemon without slicing all the way through – like you want to cut the lemon into quartered wedges, except you stop about 2 cm short of the end.
- Gently open the quarters and fill each lemon with roughly 2 teaspoons of salt (or 3 teaspoons for large lemons). Close up the quarters to reshape the lemon.
- Make sure your sterilised glass jar(s) are squeaky clean. It needs to be large enough to fit all the lemons. I use a litre (quart-sized) jar, or sometimes 2 smaller jars. The smaller containers are easier to store in the fridge.
- Pack the lemons into the jar as tightly as possible. Use a wooden spoon or muddler to gently press down on the lemons so that they release some of their juice. Sprinkle a final two teaspoons of salt over the top of the lemons. Top up the jar(s) with enough fresh lemon juice to cover the lemons to avoid exposure to air.
- Seal the jar and place it in a cool, dark place. Flip the jar upside down once a week to ensure that your lemony brine is evenly distributed.
- The preserved lemons are ready after 4 weeks though you can leave them even longer. Once you are happy with the softness and intensity of your preserved lemons, move the jar to the fridge. It will keep for up to 1 year.
Notes
- Standard Eureka lemons are not as sweet as traditional Moroccan lemons. Use Meyer lemons if you can find them, or add the juice of one mandarin to the pickling liquid. Just make sure the mixture is still plenty acidic. Both for flavour and protecting against bacteria.
- Use clean, sterilised containers to preserve the lemons. Here are three ways to sterilise glass jars.
- Clean wooden utensils – like chopsticks or a spoon – works best to remove preserved lemons from the jar. This way, you can avoid introducing any bacteria from your hands.
- You can use the rind, the pulp and the syrupy preserving liquid, though most recipes require only the rind. See the full blog post for more ideas to use all parts of the preserved lemon.