By Billa
I had an unexpected bounty of lemons last week. So, I decided to make preserved lemons out of some of them. That way they would keep indefinitely in the fridge.
I used Mark Bittman’s recipe to preserve 4 of the lemons. The recipe can be accessed here:
Consequently, I had a container of preserved lemon quarters sitting in my fridge. But, after staring at it for a week, I thought it might be an opportunity to experiment with something different - preserved lemon paste.
Here’s how the paste was made:
In the blender, I blitzed together the drained preserved lemon quarters (removing all remaining seeds first), 1/3 cup olive oil, 2 tablespoons lemon brine (from the liquid that the lemons were preserved in), 1/3 cup water, 1 tablespoon maple syrup, 5 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika, 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt, and 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper.
So now I had a cup of preserved lemon paste and it was time to try new things.
First, I used 1 tablespoon of it together with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and a teaspoon of Dijon mustard to make a vinaigrette.
Then, I made a salad from halved grape tomatoes, diced cucumber, thinly sliced hearts of palm, and diced Vidalia onion. When dressed, the vinaigrette gave the salad a slightly bitter and sour zing. It was a nice change from our usual tame vinaigrette.
For the next experiment, I chose to make a sheet pan salmon and potatoes that we like. Sliced fingerling potatoes are roasted on an oiled sheet pan for 15 minutes at 400 degrees. Then, the oven temperature is lowered to 275 and the salmon (skinless, 6-ounce pieces) is added on top of the potatoes and is baked for 25 minutes. Usually, I season the fish and potatoes with just salt and pepper before roasting. This time, however, I spread a tablespoon of the preserved lemon paste on each piece of salmon.
The resulting dish was tasty. I liked how the sour paste contrasted with the mellow, slightly sweet and mild taste of the salmon. The preserved lemon paste also went along nicely with the roasted potatoes.
At this point, I still had close to a cup of the paste left, so I decided to use it all as a pasta sauce.
I tossed freshly-cooked cavatappi with the remaining preserved lemon paste. Then, I mixed in 1/2 cup of torn basil leaves and 2 tablespoons of sliced chives. When I tasted it, the sauce tasted too sour. So I added 1/2 cup of plumped raisins and 2 more tablespoons of Parmesan cheese. That was much better. The cheese and the raisins reduced the sourness, resulting in a much more nuanced, complex flavor.
It was interesting how this one ingredient, preserved lemon paste, added a whole new dimension of flavor to our everyday dishes.
Commenti