Winter has officially hit Upstate NY! I am watching snowflakes swirl outside my window as I type this, while sitting next to a roaring fire as the cold has simultaneously set in. I am not complaining in the least as this season has been so mild for us thus far, and the flurries actually seem kind of nice at the moment. For now…
In the name of hibernating, I have been working through the kitchen making meals out of whatever scraps have been pushed to the back of the refrigerator (Those items always inspire some of the best creations though! As the proverbial “they” say, “necessity is the mother of invention”, right?) and canning and preserving anything in sight; including lemons. If you have never tried it before, preserving a lemon goes like this: slice it into quarters leaving the base intact, douse it in salt, smash it into a jar with spices and more lemons and their juices, seal, and then let the magic happen.
After about 30 days of resting in a semi-warm place, the lemon skin will be soft to the touch and infused with all of that briny flavor. The timing should coincide nicely with the point at which you (WE! ME!) are so. over. Winter. and are in major need of some sunshine – albeit if the only way to get it is on your plate. Both the pickling liquid and the peel perk up salad dressings, a few slices of said peel can be used to make a bright risotto (especially good with a handful of fried capers on top), or the entire fruit can be stuffed inside of this chicken.
As another option, you can dish up the basmati rice pilaf hybrid recipe here. It’s a perennial favorite in my house (You’ll see it in that roasted chicken post above, too!), made with a nod to Middle Eastern flavors, dried fruit, and a heaping tablespoon of that “incredibly awesome” lemon.
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- 3-4 lemons
- ¼ cup salt (about, give or take)
- 3 bay leaves
- 6 juniper berries
- Peppercorns
- Additional lemon juice, if necessary
- Canning Jar (I use a 19.6-ounce jar from Weck.)
- Thoroughly rinse and dry the lemons. Quarter each lemon, leaving about ¼ inch uncut so that one end of the lemon is still intact. Spread the lemon open and sprinkle salt (about 1 teaspoon or so) over the exposed flesh. Repeat until all of the lemons have been salted.
- Place 1 tablespoon of salt in the bottom of the jar with a bay leaf, a couple of the juniper berries, and a couple of peppercorns. Press the lemons into the jar on top of the salt, smashing them in as tight as possible, and extracting any juice. Add the remaining bay leaves, juniper berries and peppercorns in as you go, or in any empty space that remains after the lemons are all in. Ensure that the lemons are completely covered in their juices, and/or adding more lemon juice if necessary. Seal and store in a warm place. Shake daily (or as often as you remember), to redistribute the salt. The lemons will be ready after 30 days. To use, rinse free of the salt and discard the interior pulp (If desired; when it comes to making the chicken mentioned in this post, I rinse the lemon, but leave the pulp in place.).
- 2 tablespoons butter
- ½ cup broken thin spaghetti (about ¼ pound spaghetti, broken)
- 1 cup basmati rice
- 3 cups chicken or vegetable stock
- 1 tablespoon chopped preserved lemon peel
- ¼ cup golden raisins
- ¼ cup chopped dried apricots or oranges (I love these Soft & Juicy Mandarins from Trader Joe's!)
- Pinch ground sumac (optional)
- ¼ teaspoon dried parsley
- Melt the butter in a pot set over medium heat. Add the broken spaghetti to the pot and cook, stirring, until golden brown and toasted (approximately 3-5 minutes).
- Add the rice to the pot with the stock, and bring to a boil.
- Add the remaining ingredients to the rice mixture, cover, and reduce the heat to low. Cook for approximately 10-15 minutes until the rice is tender and the liquid has mostly evaporated. Remove from the heat and fluff with a fork before serving.
