I am sure that many of you are wondering what to do with that jar of Sur le Plat preserved lemons that you may have made about 6 weeks ago. Preserved lemons are essential to North African cuisine, especially the cuisine of Morocco and the Middle East. Preserved lemons add a brightness and exotic saltiness to any recipe. They taste like lemons but then again not like lemons!
Paula Wolfert has written books on Moroccan cooking, the cooking of Southwest France, and Eastern Mediterranean cuisine. My tattered, stained, and dog eared copy of Wolfert’s “Mediterranean Cooking” is one of my most beloved cookbooks. She has inspired me more than once to make jars of preserved lemons. It also helps to have generous friends, like Maurer and her mom, Annette, who are willing to share their abundance of lemons from their annual crop.
This recipe for roasted cauliflower and broccoli with preserved lemon will assist you in beginning to use your supply of lemons creatively and begin to get comfortable with the many ways that you can incorporate the lemons into any recipe.
Roasted cauliflower and broccoli with preserved lemons or any roasted vegetables, such as brussels sprouts or potatoes, come alive with the zesty salty lemons. You may also want to try preserved lemons with pasta and spinach, include slivers of lemon in a bulgur wheat salad or the Sur le Plat couscous salad, a classic risotto, or with Peruvian quinoa.
Wherever you typically use lemon juice or lemon zest, substitute preserved lemon rind. The lemon pairs well with any kind of fish or shellfish, meats, especially chicken, like my Moroccan chicken, and lamb, or try it with eggs or cheeses such as labneh. Try incorporating it into a relish or making a gremolata or chermoula with preserved lemon rather than a regular lemon.
There are endless possibilities for how to use preserved lemons. You can discover some here on the Sur le Plat site and in your own cherished cookbooks.
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