“I always have jars of preserved lemons in the kitchen. They have a silky texture and distinctive flavor, are essential ingredients in Moroccan cooking and have found their way into many other foods. I slice them into salads and stews, toss them into pilafs, shake them in vinaigrettes, and use them to garnish countless other recipes. Traditionally, the recipe takes a month. But you can use this quick method and have preserved lemons in three days. It’s not the same as the long cure, but will do in a pinch.”

—by Laura Frankel

Quick Tip:
Preserved lemons keep indefinitely in the refrigerator.

Ingredients
10 ripe lemons
½ cup kosher salt
1 cinammon stick
3 whole black peppercorns
1 bay leaf
3 whole coriander seeds
pinch of fennel seeds

Directions

1. Scrub the lemons and place them in a large saucepan or dutch oven filled with water. Place a piece of parchment paper over them and weight it down with a lid from a smaller pan or oven safe brick (I actually own a brick for this task). The weight will keep the very buoyant lemons down in the water where we need them to be. Simmer the lemons either stove top or in a slow 200 degree oven for 1 hour. Allow them lemons to cool thoroughly.
2. Cut four of the lemons into quarters from top to bottom about seven-eighths of the way—do not cut all the way through.
3. Sprinkle the lemons heavily with half the salt and place them in a clean, dry preserving jar.
4. Repeat with four more lemons, packing them into the jar. Add the spices to the jar, pushing them down around and under the lemons.
5. Squeeze the juice from the two remaining lemons and pour it into the jar. Cover the jar, and keep it at room temperature for one month. Shake it every day to redistribute the juice and salt. (The salt draws out the juices that will eventually completely cover the lemons.)
6. You will have almost perfect preserved lemons in three days.