Broiled Sea Bream with Preserved Lemons
Swordfish with Moroccan Spices and Preserved Lemons

The world's greatest culinary innovations were not born out of desire for epicurean pleasure, but purely out of necessity to prevent food from spoiling. If our ancestors were not in constant fear of hunger and didn't try to save every bit of produce, milk, and animals available to them for food, we would live in a world without cheese, yogurt, wine, or proscuitto. Learning about the preserved ingredients of a nation is the best way to understand their cuisine. People preserve what they consider most delicious, nutritional, and essential to their cooking. In Europe, it's milk; in the Orient, it's soy beans; in Thailand, it's fish; and in Morocco, it's lemons. I've been experimenting with Moroccan dishes for quite some time, but only when I learned to make Moroccan preserved lemons did the world of Moroccan cuisine open up to me. Preserved lemons are a strong flavoring agent, like garlic or ginger. They gives Moroccan lamb and chicken braises a subtle briny flavor that complements ginger and dried fruit. Thinly sliced, they do wonders when spread on a whole fish before roasting, or when added to a fish stew.

The main ingredient in preserved lemons is time. It has a way of transforming ordinary ingredients, lemons and salt, into more than the sum of their parts. It gives the lemons a new texture, a new flavor, and a new life. It mellows out acidity, and gives the lemons a salty-sweet flavor and supple texture. But in spite of the transformation, it leaves lemon's social personality intact. Lemon is a social fruit whether or not it's preserved. It does not like to be eaten alone in its raw state because it's too sour, or in its preserved state because it's too pungent. It likes to mingle with the other ingredients and share it's vibrance with them. It gets along with everyone -- vegetables, fish, meat, and poultry. It feels at home in a savory dish as much as in a sweet one.

When I first heard about preserved lemons, I didn't realize that I could buy them in the Boston area, so I got a recipe from Saveur magazine and made them myself. I had never pickled anything before, but preserving the lemons turned out to be extremely easy. It only took 5 minutes to quarter them, stuff them with salt, and stick them in a jar. The hard part was waiting a month for the salt and time to do their magic. Now I preserve a jar full of lemons every 6 months, so that I always have some in my fridge ready to use.

Moroccan Preserved Lemons Recipe

1. Prepare a clean glass jar with a cover that is large enough to hold the lemons (e.g. 8-cup capacity).
   
   
2. Cut the lemons into quarters lengthwise, without cutting all the way through. They should be attached at one end, and stay in one piece.
   
   
3. Stuff each lemon with 2 Tbsp kosher salt. Make sure to use kosher salt, not table salt. Put the stuffed lemons in the jar.
   
   
4. Cover the jar, and keep it at room temperature for a week. Every day or two, press the lemons down to get some juice out of them. Depending on the shape of your jar, this can be done with a plate, a potato masher or a clean hand.
   
   
5. After a week, the lemon juice should almost cover the lemons. Pour in enough olive oil to cover the lemons, and refrigerate for 3 weeks before using. Lemons will keep in the fridge for up to 6 months. Expect that the oil may solidify and a white film may form on top of the lemons. It's normal.
   
   
6. To use, remove lemons from the jar with tongs, and rinse them well under cool water.

In the warmer months, my favorite way to use preserved lemons is in fish dishes. Here are some recipes to get you started:

Broiled Sea Bream with Preserved Lemons
Swordfish with Moroccan Spices and Preserved Lemons