Bee Wilson’s Preserved Lemons

We absolutely love Bee Wilson’s latest book ‘The Secret of Cooking: recipes for an easier life in the kitchen’. Every recipe we’ve made from it so far has been a hit.

From Bee “Preserved lemon is a lovely way to add the sharpness of lemon in a more complex form than juice alone. Just a tiny piece of preserved lemon, finely chopped and added at the last minute, does wonders for rice dishes, sandwiches and salads.”

METHOD

1. Halve the lemons lengthways and slice as thinly as you possibly can: I do this usingthe slicer attachment in the food processor but use a mandoline if you are brave, using a safety glove. It’s very important that the lemons are paper thin.
2. Remove any visible seeds.
3. Mix the lemons with the salt in a bowl. After 30 minutes, pack them into the sterilised jar, cover with oil and seal the jar.

You can start eating them after 24 hours. Store in the fridge and use within a couple of months. You can use these in any way that you would use any other preserved lemon.

WAYS TO USE PRESERVED LEMONS

• Add some to a vegetable risotto at the end to give sharpness (this is especially good with pea or asparagus risotto).
• My friend Ranjita sometimes adds fine strips of preserved lemon to avocado toast for breakfast, which gives the buttery blandness of the avocado an energising tang that wakes you up, with or without a double espresso alongside.
• Sprinkle preserved lemons over houmous or in a houmous and falafel sandwich to give brightness.
• Make a piquant salsa by chopping some preserved lemons very finely and mixing them with a chopped red chilli, chopped cucumber, spring onions and mint.
• Finely chop a tablespoon of preserved lemon, mix it with olive oil and use this sharp lemony oil to anoint a ball of buffalo mozzarella.

RECIPE: By Bee Wilson, from her book ‘The Secret of Cooking: recipes for an easier life in the kitchen’

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