This recipe makes the best preserved lemon substitute. It is salty and savoury with that complex candy-like lemon flavour of Morrocan preserved lemons. And it's ready in less than 30 minutes – much quicker than the weeks required for preserved lemons. Why not make a double batch while you're at it?
Yield⅓ cup
Servings5
Ingredients
- 2 small lemons (or 1 big one), ends trimmed and sliced thinly
- ⅓ cup fresh lemon juice, from 2 to 3 lemons
- 2½ teaspoons salt
Instructions
- Pick out and discard any seeds from lemon slices. Then add the lemon slices, juice and salt to a saucepan for which you have a lid. Place it over medium heat. As soon as the lemon juice starts to simmer, turn the heat down to the lowest setting and cover it with a lid.
- Cook the lemons for 12 to 14 minutes – gently stirring halfway through. The juice will reduce to a thick syrupy consistency as the lemon slices soften.
- Allow the quick preserved lemons to cool to room temperature.
Notes
- Keep an eye on the pot during cooking. If it dries up before the lemons are soft, add a splash of water and continue cooking.
- Store the quick preserved lemons in a clean airtight container in the fridge for up to a month. Gently press the lemon rind down to submerge it in the lemon juice. Use clean utensils (not fingers) to remove the lemon slices from the jar.
- For preserved lemon pureé substitute, use a stick blender to blitz the cooked lemon slices into a pureé, along with the salty liquid. Or use a mortar and pestle to bash it into a paste.
- Take a heaped tablespoon of this cheat's preserved lemon to substitute one preserved Beldi lemon.