Moroccan-style salted lemons in spices - intensely lemony and the best addition to your pilafs, tagines, salads and more. This recipe is for one 1 litre / 1 quart jar. In the photographs, you’ll see I made multiple smaller jars, which are ideal for sharing with family and friends. There is no true science to this – you may need more lemons or salt - eyeball it and all will be well!
Sterilise glass canning jar by filling it with boiling water and letting it stand for ten minutes in the sink, then drain.
Sprinkle a few teaspoons to a tablespoon of salt in the sterilised glass jar. Set aside.
Wash lemons and pat dry, slice one nub off the end. Cut the lemon into quarters or sixths depending on the size, from the sliced end downwards – but stop short of cutting all the way through. This keeps the lemons in-tact.
Open up the lemon segments and spoon in about 2-3 teaspoons of sea salt into the centre, then squish the segments together. Repeat! (Note: if you’re making a large batch, and this feel time consuming – don’t worry about keeping your lemons intact, add salt to a bowl and toss the segments in there to coat).
Pack the lemons as tight as you can into your jar, use a wooden spoon to help squash them down and release the juice to create a brine.
Add one bay leaf, sprinkle pink peppercorns over the top, and an additional tablespoon of salt.
Top the jar off with fresh lemon juice, so the entire contents is submerged – right up to the lid. Cap, label and date.
After a few days, add more lemon juice if needed. Store somewhere out of direct light.
After one month, the lemons are ready to use – you will notice they have softened and changed colour. Rinse under running water to remove excess salt before using.
Notes
Choose organic lemons as the conventional ones have a wax coating which will prevent fermentation – Meyer are preferred.
Bay leaf and peppercorns are optional – experiment with other flavours like cinnamon, coriander seeds and fennel.
The harder you can pack/squish the lemons down the better – it will mean you need to use less additional lemon juice.
Keep the lemons submerged in brine at all times, and make sure the brine reaches all the way to the top.
Use a very well-fitting plastic lid – not metal – you don’t want it rusting and tainting your batch!
Lemons are ready when they soften considerably.
Store in the fridge for up to a year.
Nutrition panel is an estimate only - it is impossible to calculate the sodium content as most of the salt will be rinsed off before you eat the lemons.