2000s Recipes + Menus

Moroccan-Style Preserved Lemons

Makesabout 48 pieces
  • Active time:15 min
  • Start to finish:5 days
May 2008
Preserved lemons are perhaps most at home in Moroccan dishes, but we love their complex, bright flavor and aroma in all kinds of soups, stews, and salads. We’ve adapted Mediterranean-food authority Paul Wolfert’s quick method and made it even faster by blanching the lemons first. If you manage to find Meyer lemons, this is a great way to capture their unforgettable taste and perfume. This recipe is a component of the Spicy Crab Spaghettini.
  • 10 to 12 lemons (2 1/2 to 3 lb)
  • 2/3 cup kosher salt
  • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • Equipment:

    a 4- to 6-cup jar with a tight-fitting lid
  • Blanch 6 lemons in boiling water 5 minutes, then drain. Cut each lemon into 8 wedges and discard seeds. Toss with kosher salt in a bowl, then firmly pack with salt into jar.
  • Squeeze lemon juice from remaining lemons to measure 1 cup. Add enough juice to cover lemons and screw on lid. Let stand at room temperature, shaking jar gently once a day, 5 days. Add oil to lemons and chill, covered.
Cooks’ note: Lemons keep, chilled, 1 year.
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