Preserved lemons are often used in moroccan dishes and I never thought that I would make my own. One of my friends who has really gotten into fermenting and pickling, shared the following easy recipe with me. It basically entails using lemons, lemon juice, water, and salt and allowing the lemons to ferment for close to a month. If you don’t want to wait that long, you can always purchase them in the supermarket. The fermentation process tempers the bitterness, so when included in a recipe, these lemons add an intense lemony flavor. The dressing is incredibly versatile. Today, I added a couple of tablespoons to cooked lentils. It can also be mixed into grains and wonderful with asparagus.

How To Make Preserved Lemons

This dressing is adapted from a Martha Stewart recipe:

1 preserved lemon
7 to 8 tablespoons avocado oil or extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1. Rinse whole lemon and cut in half. Remove seeds and flesh from half of the lemon and chop the skin very fine; set aside.
2. Remove seeds from remaining lemon half and add to food processor or blender with the rest of the ingredients.
3. Process/blend until well-combined. If dressing seems too thick, add water for a thinner consistency.
4. Stir in the finely chopped preserved rind.