Preserved lemon question.....I have a jar of homemade preserved lemons waiting....

B

barbara-in-va

Well-known member
to be tried! I hope they are okay, this is my first attempt. This is also a new flavor for me so I am not exactly sure what kind of things to add it to.

Last night I made a fava bean bruschutta(?) which was fabulous. Basically fava beans, mint, garlic, romano cheese, s&p in the food processor, chop medium. Remove and add lemon juice, olive oil and more s&p to taste. Served on toasts painted with olive oil and topped with some proscuitto. YUM!

I was wondering if some preserved lemon would be good here instead of the lemon juice? (I am to timid to try, afraid I will ruin the beans!) What do yo think?

 
There is a recipe at #1671 that sounds good.

My most frequent use us to finely dice a piece of preserved peel and add it to soup.

 
Barbara, why don't you try cutting some of the peel into small dice and toss into>>>

a green salad and see how you like it and then you'll have an idea where you might like them. I toss the flesh and rinse the peel before dicing.

I'm editing this to add this that I found doing a google search:

In particular, preserved lemons are a specialty of Morocco. “They are traditionally served with dishes such a grilled (broiled) meats or used to flavour couscous, tagines, stuffings and casseroles They can lend an intense citrus tang to a surprising variety of savoury dishes, such as prawn (shrimp) skewers, risotto, pasta and vinaigrettes. Only the rind is used in cooking. Discard the flesh and bitter pith, rinse and finely slice or chop the rind before adding it to the dish.

 
Do you mean the kind of preserved lemon that goes with mid-eastern food? There are

lots of ideas for that just as an accompaniment.

I tried it once and I think I was not very successful. Or at least, I didn't like them much.

 
First, Barbara, how did you make them? If you used jsut lemon juice and....

salt, they will go with everything under the sun that goes with lemon...but if you added tumeric and what-ever else (more Indian style) the choice of dishes they will go with are far more limited IMHO.....
Add them to what you made above BUT...wash very well under running water and dispose of the soft pulp.
Slice thinly and try it on top of a mouthful of what ever you want to...if you have no problem and in fact find it really not salty then you need not be that fanatical in washing the peel. (Must do away with the pulp anycase)
The octopus salad I did the other night I didn't mention but I sliced up some of the preserved lemon over that...it's a given in my household if we ahve any seafood we have some preserved lemon.....
LOVE the stuff.
ALet us know how you like your preserve.

 
OH! I wouldn't use the preserves instead of juice but rather....

use it as a condiment with the juice in the recipe staying as is.

 
Barbara, the bruschetta topping sounds delicious! REC: Roasted Garlic and Lima Bean Crostini

I posted this last fall over on EPI...It sounds so much like what you made with the fava beans ... and we really liked it. I haven't seen any fresh fava beans available here, but we can buy them frozen. I think I will try a substitution...Yum!!! I like the addition of prosciutto too!


Roasted Garlic and Lima Bean Crostini
by Lucy Waverman – Home for Dinner

"This combination may sound strange, but it tastes terrific. The dip is a pretty green color and a cinch to make. It can also be served in a bowl and surrounded with root vegetable chips for dipping. This may also be made with fava beans."

2 heads garlic, roasted
1 c frozen lima beans, defrosted
2/3 c olive oil
¼ c parmesan cheese, grated
¼ c mint, chopped
2 tsp lime juice, or to taste
salt, to taste
freshly ground pepper, to taste
pinch cayenne
12 thin slices Italian bread

Squeeze garlic out of heads and place in food processor. Add beans and ½ cup olive oil. Process until smooth.

Stir in parmesan, mint, lime juice, salt and cayenne.

Brush bread on both sides with remaining 2 tablespoons oil and grill bread on each side until golden. Top with bean mixture.

My Notes: I increased the lima beans to 1½ cups and just threw everything (except the bread) into the food processor at once.

 
Hi Joanie, my preserves have a bay leaf, cinnamon stick and peppercorns,

in addition to the lemon, salt and juice. They have been sitting for 2 1/2 weeks and I can't wait to try them. Thank you very much for the information and suggestions. I will try just topping the fava beans with a bit of finely chopped lemons and see what it's like!

 
Do try and make the plain stuff.....

no matter how you like the one you've done. It is a case of the simpler flavour being the most versatile in this case.

 
Barbara, they'd be fine but...

I'd be concerned about any residual saltiness combined with the prosciutto so... definitely rinse the lemons well.

I keep a couple jars of them in my fridge (plain, herbed) and put them into (almost) everything. One of my favorite dishes is a "tuna salad" (for use as sandwich filling or on salads), using chunk tuna or tuna steak, oil-cured olives, red onion, an oil & vinegar dressing, fresh oregano and parsley, and minced preserved lemon. Preserved lemons can be an acquired taste, for some (I keep a mental tally of which guests don't enjoy them), so you just need to experiment a bit to find out how you like them best.

Enjoy,
R.

 
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