Preserved Lemon Aioli

Preserved Lemon Aïoli

Moroccan-style preserved lemons (and a bit of their brine) give this aïoli a depth of flavour you can’t get from fresh lemons. Look for them at gourmet food shops.   Makes 1 1/2 cups (375 mL)
Ingredients
2 large egg yolks
2 cloves garlic, grated
1 whole small preserved lemon, rinsed, seeded, chopped, about 4 tsp (20 mL)
1 tbsp (15 mL) fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp (15 mL) preserved lemon brine
1 1/4 cups (310 mL) canola oil
Salt to taste
Directions:
 In a food processor, combine egg yolks, garlic, preserved lemon, lemon juice and brine. Process until smooth and uniform. With motor running, add canola oil in a slow, steady stream until it is fully incorporated and emulsified. Taste and season with salt, if necessary. Transfer to an airtight container. Refrigerate up to 5 days.

Grilled Shrimp And Asparagus With Preserved Lemon Aioli

 

Grilled Shrimp and Asparagus with Preserved Lemon Aïoli

In this tasty dipping platter, shrimp are grilled then tossed in a caper-spiked green sauce for maximum flavor, while asparagus is thrown on the grill dry for the best texture. They’re both swiped in a thick aïoli amped up with preserved lemon. Adding baking soda to shrimp is an Asian technique that helps firm up the texture.   Serves 6 to 8

Directions and Ingredients:
Combine sugar and baking soda in a medium bowl. Add shrimp and toss to coat. Season with salt. Place shrimp in a colander set over a bowl for 1 hour at room temperature or in fridge for up to 3 hours.

Combine parsley, garlic and capers in a mini food processor, and pulse until well combined. Add 3 tbsp (45 mL) olive oil. Pulse, scraping down sides as needed, until you have a loose sauce. Season with salt to taste. Set aside.

Preheat grill on high heat.

While grill is heating, toss shrimp with 1 tbsp (15 mL) olive oil and thread tightly onto metal skewers. Grill shrimp until lightly browned and just cooked through, about 2 1/2 minutes per side. Remove from heat and drizzle with lemon juice.

Grill asparagus, turning occasionally, until the spears turn bright green and are beginning to soften, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a baking sheet. Toss with remaining 1 tbsp (15 mL) olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Return to grill. Cook, turning occasionally, until lightly charred and tender-crisp, about 1 minute more. Transfer to a serving platter.

Remove shrimp from skewers into a bowl. Add green sauce and toss. Transfer to platter with asparagus and serve with Preserved Lemon Aïoli.
Preserved Lemon Aioli
Moroccan-style preserved lemons (and a bit of their brine) give this aïoli a depth of flavour you can’t get from fresh lemons. Look for them at gourmet food shops.
Ingredients:

2 large egg yolks
2 cloves garlic, grated

1 whole small preserved lemon, rinsed, seeded, chopped, about 4 tsp (20 mL)
1 tbsp (15 mL) fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp (15 mL) preserved lemon brine
1 1/4 cups (310 mL) canola oil
Salt to taste
Directions:
In a food processor, combine egg yolks, garlic, preserved lemon, lemon juice and brine. Process until smooth and uniform. With motor running, add canola oil in a slow, steady stream until it is fully incorporated and emulsified. Taste and season with salt, if necessary. Transfer to an airtight container. Refrigerate up to 5 days. Makes 1 1/2 cups (375 mL).

Preserved Lemon Paloma

Preserved Lemon Paloma

Preserved lemon adds a slight saltiness and refined funkiness that enhances the complexity and sharpness of a lighter pour of tequila in this low-alcohol drink. If the (edible) rind of the preserved lemons is still firm, don’t incorporate it into the purée: just scrape out the soft centres, leaving any seeds behind.

Ingredients

1/2 oz blanco tequila, such as 1800 Blanco Tequila
4 oz Preserved Lemon & Grapefruit Juice (recipe follows), see TIP
Edible Flower Ice Cubes (optional, recipe follows)
2 oz chilled high-quality grapefruit soda, like Fever-Tree
1 oz chilled grapefruit-flavoured sparkling water (optional)
2 grapefruit triangles for garnish

Directions:
Pour tequila and juice into a chilled rocks glass. Add ice cubes, or Edible Flower Ice Cubes, to fill to two thirds and stir to chill. 

Pour in grapefruit soda and grapefruit sparkling water, if using. Stir.Garnish with grapefruit triangles. Makes 1 drink

TIP Find preserved lemons at Middle Eastern grocery stores or online (amazon.ca). Whole pickled Lemons from Middle Eastern grocers— Not South Asian lemon (or lime) pickle!— make a good substitute. You can also find a recipe to make your own.LCBO.com/fdspring24.

Preserved Lemon & Grapefruit Juice
Using a mortar and pestle, crush the soft centers and tender rinds of preserved lemons (minus the seeds) until you have 1 tbsp (15 mL) soft 
    purée. Add it to a blender along with 
2 cups (500 mL) freshly squeezed red grapefruit juice,
2 tbsp (30 mL) lime juice and
2 tbsp (30 mL) agave syrup,
blending 15 to 20 seconds to mix thoroughly. Place in a jar with a
tightly fitting lid and refrigerate 5 to 7 days.
Makes 2 1/3 cups (580 mL) juice, enough for 4 drinks

Edible Flower Ice Cubes
To make this gorgeous ice, you just need edible flowers and distilled water. Edible flowers include dandelions, lilacs, mums, nasturtiums, violets, pansies and orchids. Most gourmet shops will carry them, though it’s far more economical to grow them yourself. You could also use small herb sprigs or leaves. Distilled water, which you can find at Shoppers Drug Mart and Loblaws under the PC brand, will make clearer ice than tap water, which has minerals and impurities that cloud ice.

First, bring distilled water to a boil and let it cool to room temperature. Trim any stems from the flowers and gently wash them. Lay out ice cube trays of various sizes, if you have them. Silicone trays are preferable—the cubes are far less likely to break when you pop them out. Fill as many moulds as you need just a hair more than halfway with the prepared water. Place the flowers in, bloom side up, and poke down with a skewer. (It’s fine if they float back up.) Place trays in the freezer so they lay perfectly flat. Freeze until solid, which can take anywhere from 4 to 12 hours. Top up the cubes with more of the prepared water until almost full and return to freezer. When solid, carefully pop them out and transfer to freezer bags. Cubes will keep in the freezer up to 1 month.

Moroccan Tagine Cod with Chermoula

                                      unknown owner of photo

Tagine Cod

Ingredients:

Cooked Bismati Rice (keep warm)
Preserved Lemon,  (recipe follows)

1 onion, peeled, cut in halves and sliced into strips at  

   an angle

1 carrot, peeled and sliced into thin elongated diagonal 

   strips 

1 green bell pepper, trim top and bottom, slice into long 

   thin 1/4" strips, slice top and bottom also.  

1/3 cup green olives, quartered  (seminole or pegine)

2 tablespoons preserved lemon, chopped

14 oz. can diced tomatoes

Fish seasoned with salt

Directions:

Prepare the chermoula and set aside.

Add 1/4 cup olive oil to dutch oven.  Sauté vegetables approx. 5 minutes with 1/4 teaspoon salt.  Next add diced tomato with juice, green olives and preserved lemon, cook another 4 or 5 minutes. 

While the vegetables are cooking cut the fillet of cod down the center and then cut into 1 1/2"  or 2" chunks season with 1/2 teaspoon salt.  The salt keeps the fish tender.  Set aside. 

 

Place the churmoula in a large bowl at the last minute and add the chunks of fish only to coat.   Carefully add coated chunks of fish to vegetable and any leftover chermoula and broth.  Cook over medium heat for 3 to 5 min.  Finish cooking off the heat about 4 minutes in the pot with lid. Serve immediately over Basmati rice.

1 1/2 pounds cod, cutdown the center of fillet and into  1 1/2" to 2" chunks, place in bowl and set aside.  Prepare chermoula while vegetables sauté.  Carefully add cod to churmoula place cod on top of vegetable and cook in sauce to 140*F. (3 to 5 minutes)  Remove pan from heat and allow fish to finish cooking in the heat in pan maybe 4 minutes.

Chermoula:

1/2 cup cilantro, chopped fine

4 garlic cloves

1 1/4 teaspoon cumin

1 1/4 teaspoon paprika

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice

Pulse in food processor to "chop", not smooth paste

1 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice

Add 2 tablespoons olive oil and stir in by hand 

"Quick" Preserved Lemon Recipe

  2 lemons, washed well, cut ends, slice thin with

     mandolin

  3 tablespoons sugar

  3 tablespoons salt 

  3/4 cup olive oil

  Mix well in a bowl.  Add to jar.  Allow to marinate at  

  least 2 hours.  Refrigerate leftovers.

To serve;  Place a generous bed of rice on plate with serving of fish and top with sauce and vegetables.  Garnish with cilantro.

Chicken In A Pot With Preserved Lemon And Garlic

Chicken In A Pot With

Preserved Lemon And Garlic

Ingredients:
½ salt-preserved lemon, rinsed well (see note)
¼ cup sugar
⅓ cup olive oil
16 small peeled potatoes (white or sweet) or 2 large 

   peeled potatoes cut into 16 pieces
16 small onions or shallots, peeled and trimmed
8 carrots, peeled and quartered
4 stalks celery, trimmed and quartered
4 heads garlic, cloves separated but not peeled
Salt and freshly ground pepper
3 sprigs fresh thyme
3 sprigs Italian parsley
2 sprigs rosemary
1 chicken, whole or cut up
1 cup chicken broth
½ cup white wine

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Remove zest from preserved lemon and cut zest into small squares; save pulp for another use. Bring 1 cup water and the sugar to a boil, drop in zest and cook 1 minute; drain and set aside.

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add vegetables and garlic, season with salt and pepper and sauté until brown on all sides. (If necessary, do this in 2 batches.) Spoon vegetables into a 4 1/2- to 5-quart lidded Dutch oven and stir in herbs and lemon zest.

Return skillet to heat, add another tablespoon of oil and brown chicken on all sides, seasoning it with salt and pepper as it cooks. Tuck chicken into casserole, surrounding it with vegetables. Mix together the broth, wine and remaining olive oil and pour it over chicken and vegetables.

Mix flour with enough hot water (about 3/4 cup) to make a malleable dough. On a floured surface, work dough into a sausage; place dough on rim of casserole. Press lid onto dough to seal casserole. 

Bake 55 minutes. To break seal, work the point of a screwdriver between pot and lid. If chicken is whole, quarter it. Chicken may be served in the pot or arranged with vegetables on a serving platter.

Recipe of Dorie Greenspan.

How To Make Preserved Lemons A Moroccan And Middle Eastern Speciality

Unlock one of the secrets of Moroccan and Middle Eastern cuisine and discover how preserved lemons transform a dish into something indescribably exquisite!

If you’re a fan of Moroccan and Middle Eastern cooking you’ve probably had the experience of thumbing through recipes, drooling all the while, earmarking the ones you particularly like, only to then scan through the ingredients and see the words:  “Preserved Lemons”.  Your heart sinks for a moment as you realize you’re sorely lacking this crucial ingredient (and simultaneously wondering, what the heck is a “preserved lemon” anyway??)  And so with disappointment you un-earmark that page and move on to the next recipe.

DON’T let that scenario stop you again!

Preserved lemons are so easy and quick to make, last practically forever, and will enhance your dishes like nothing you’ve ever tasted.  If you’re willing to take a few minutes of your time to make these preserved lemons, you’ll be able to reap your lemony harvest throughout the rest of the year.

Okay, so first things first.  What are preserved lemons?  They’re lemons that have been pickled in salt and their own juices and left to sit for a month before using.

Preserved lemons will transform your dish from something good into something amazing.  Think about how much you love things flavored with lemon.  Preserved lemons are lemons on steroids.  They add an intense, concentrated lemon flavor to the dish without all the sour tartness.  The preserving process tempers the tartness while accentuating the lemon flavor.  Mildly tart but intensely lemony.  See, I told you.  Don’t think twice next time about leaving out this touch of heaven.

Preserved lemons are used throughout Morocco, the Middle East and in certain areas of India to add flavor to a variety of dishes – everything from meats to salads, stews and sauces.  And really, your imagination is the limit to how they can be used and enjoyed.

Here are a few more ideas:

Salad Dressings.  Blend some preserved lemon into it and that dressing will love you forever.  

Fish.  Seafood and lemons are soul mates.  Now think about relationship seafood and preserved lemons can form.  Till never do us part.  Whip up a lovely marinade for your fish with some finely diced or blended preserved lemon or add it to your sauce to drizzle over your fish.  

Healthy Grain Dishes and Salads.  Think nutty roasted barley or quinoa tossed with vegetables and tiny bits of preserved lemon with a tasty vinaigrette.  Or how about a preserved lemon risotto or pilaf?  Now you’re talking.  

Pasta.  Buttery pasta tossed with a creamy preserved lemon sauce?  Commmme to mama!  

Dips.  Try adding some preserved lemon to your hummus next time.  Or to your baba ganoush. 

Salsas.  Next time you make your famous mango/pineapple/however-you-make-it salsa, add some diced preserved lemon to it.  Life never was so good.

How To Make 
Toss the lemon slices in kosher salt to coat, and place them into a sterile 2 quart glass jar. Pour in the lemon juice, cover tightly, and let stand on the counter for 1 week. Turn the jar over daily. At the end of the week, top the jar off with enough olive oil to cover the lemons. This will keep in the refrigerator for up to 4 months.

How To Use 
To use, pull the lemon pulp from the peel, and scrape out the pith to leave only the yellow rind. Julienne, and add to your favorite dish for a lemony zing.