Name: Preserved Lemons
Yield: one two-litre jar
Ingredients: 10–12 small thin-skinned lemons (more if your jar is wide); A generous handful of coarse sea salt; Juice of 4–5 extra lemons, to top up; A clean two-litre jar with a tight lid

Small Moroccan lemons from the souk this morning, the thin-skinned kind. Quartered through the top so they open like a flower but stay attached at the base. Pack hard with salt, jar them tight, lemon juice over. Six weeks. The pantry will smell like all the good things at once.

Preserved Lemons

one two-litre jar

You need

10–12 small thin-skinned lemons (more if your jar is wide)A generous handful of coarse sea saltJuice of 4–5 extra lemons, to top upA clean two-litre jar with a tight lid

Quarter each lemon from the top, almost through, leaving the base attached. Stuff each one with salt.

Layer into the jar, pressing down hard so the juice rises. Top up with extra lemon juice until the lemons are submerged.

Lid on. Pantry. Turn the jar upside down once a week. Six weeks before they are tender. Use the rind, not the flesh.

A jar of preserved lemons