Stephanie’s preserved lemons

We have been quite successful in our preserving efforts at Bondi – olives from our trees, bouillon from our veggies, chilli oil to dress fresh pasta, and the odd jam here and there… I’m looking forward to seeing how the lemons turn out with Stephanie Alexander‘s recipe – and what we can make with them!

Fresh from the garden: lemons, bay leaves
Recipe source: Stephanie Alexander
Makes: 1 large jar

What to do:

• First, sterilise your jars. You can do this by washing the jars in soap and hot water, and then or placing in a 150C oven for 10 minutes until dried thoroughly. Fill the jars while warm.
• Wash and then dry the lids with a clean piece of paper towel.
• Scrub the lemons clean, wipe dry with paper towel, then chop into quarters, removing any pips. Discard any lemons with imperfections.
• Scatter a large tablespoon of salt into your sterilised jar.
• Place the lemons into a large bowl and cover with remaining salt.
• Tear the bay leaves into pieces and break the cinnamon sticks into shards.
• Pack the lemons tightly into the jar, skin side out, inserting pieces of bay leaf, pepper, cloves and cinnamon at intervals.
• Press down hard on the fruit so that as much juice is released as possible.
• Make sure that the lemons are completely covered in juice, otherwise mould will develop. If required, squeeze extra juice into the jar to cover the lemons.
• With a fresh clean piece of paper towel, wipe the cap of the jar free of salt. Tightly close the lid.
• Leave in a cool, dark cupboard for at least a month before using. Refrigerate the lemons once you have opened the jar.

 Notes: What is a preserve? Why do the lemons have to be completely covered? What could we use the preserved lemons for afterwards?