Gluten free - grain free - dairy free - refined sugar free - egg free - nut free - vegetarian In Winter, those of you with your own fruit trees may wonder what on earth to do with all your extra citrus. Even if you don't have your own trees, citrus are much cheaper during winter and spring and it's worth stocking up and preserving some for those months when they're very expensive. I always make a couple of big jars of preserved lemons during winter, to use in yummy dishes like this chicken dish, as well as Tagines and lamb casseroles through the year. And, I always juice a bunch of excess lemons and freeze them in ice cube trays, then keep them in containers in the freezer so I always have lemon juice on hand when a recipe calls for it. This is a very simple way to preserve lemons. It simply involved a lot of salt and a few spices if you want to use them. My recipe is based on one in the book The Art of Preserving by Jan Berry and Rodney Weidland. The number of jars you will need depends on the size of the jars and the size of the lemons! The original recipe says to use thin skinned lemons, but mine are pretty thick-skinnned and it still works! I fit about 2 1/2 large, thick skinned lemons in a 500ml jar. I prefer to use organic, home grown lemons - mostly so they don't have any wax coating and I know they've not been sprayed with any nasties, since you actually eat the skin.
The following quantities are for 8-10 lemons. Spread the ingredients evenly between how ever many jars you are using. Ingredients (per 8-10 lemons):
Method
Gluten free, dairy free, sugar free, nut free, egg free It has occurred to me that my blog is so far a little biased towards sweet treats...probably because I am too! But it's time to start posting some more yummy, savoury, friendly dishes for your enjoyment. Introducing Preserved Lemon Chicken...barbecued chicken pieces covered with an easy but incredibly full of flavour marinade. All ingredients go in a food processor, get slapped on the chicken and popped in the fridge till ready to cook. All you need on the side is a bit of salad, or some corn cobs done alongside the chicken on the BBQ. Mashed potato or cauliflower mash would also work nicely.
Ingredients
Remove the pulp from the preserved lemon, keeping only the skins, and wash thoroughly. Place all ingredients (except chicken) in a food processor and blend until smooth (it makes a thick marinade, not a runny one). Place the chicken pieces in a glass or ceramic dish and smear all over with the marinade. Cover, and place in fridge for at least one hour (preferably a few hours or overnight). Barbeque the chicken on a very hot, oiled plate till cooked through (about 20 minutes). Enjoy! |
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