FOOD if life gives you lemons
How about a velvety rich dressing or preserving lemons so they can last for years?
NIVA and share their knowledge in making ferments, pickles, preserves and more intheir latest book The Abundant Kitchen.
With 100 easy-to-follow , meticulously written recipes, this book will become a muchloved fermenting bible.
Using these recipes is the perfect way to preserve and transform the bounty from your garden into delicious classics, Middle Eastern flavours and other wonderful tastes from around the globe.
PRESERVED LEMON SALAD DRESSING
This salad dressing is really something. The lemons cause the oil to emulsify into a velvety rich dressing that can pick up any salad. It is a great vegan alternative to mayo dressings. We enjoy dipping globe artichoke leaves in it as we make our way to the hearts. It’s also exceptionally smashing when topping salads with hardboiled eggs.
Ingredients
125 ml Preserved Lemons (see below), including the brine
1⁄4 tsp black pepper
2 cloves garlic
1⁄4 tsp ground cumin 50ml sunflower or olive oil 1 tsp honey
125ml water
Method
Place all the ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend together on the highest setting until smooth.
Transfer to a jar and store in the fridge. The dressing thickens in the fridge. Use as is, or dilute to your preferred
consistency.— Makes 300ml
PRESERVED LEMONS
In this simple recipe we use salt to transform lemons to create a culinary treat. The preserved lemons are ready to eat as early as within three days, while also keeping for many years.
While you can use any lemon for this recipe, a variety with a medium-thick peel is ideal, to avoid the bitterness of excess peel.
The preserved lemon slices can be served on top of almost any dish, eaten as is, as a couple of slices inside a sandwich, or mixed into salads.
Ingredients
5 medium ripe and nicely yellow lemons
30g salt
2 tsp paprika juice of 1 lemon olive oil, to seal
Method
Slice the lemons into 5mm slices and remove as many pips as possible, this will massively help reduce bitterness.
Mix the salt and paprika on a plate. Lightly touch one side of each lemon slice in the mixture, shake to remove excess salt and pack into a clean jar. If you touch both sides of the lemon in the salt, it would be too salty. Even with one side, we are not going for full coverage — just for some of the
spice mix to stick on. As you pack the lemons into a clean jar, the juice from the lemons mixed in with the salt will start rising up, acting as a brine.
Add lemon juice as needed so that the lemons are fully submerged. If any lemons are floating, use a clean weight to keep them down. Top with olive oil to seal and sit on the kitchen bench out of direct sunlight.
After opening, store in the fridge.