Preserved Lemons (Tunisian Style)

These Tunisian preserved lemons are a staple in our home. When my last jar starts to get half empty I get nervous and start working on a new one ASAP.

I think by now you all know that I love lemons! You can do so much with them, and they bring in a kick of flavor from juice to skin. That’s why preserving is only a natural way to use lemons in your kitchen. Not only can you infuse them with additional flavors, you also preserve them for a longer time and get a beautiful funky tang from the preservation flavors.

Preserved lemons come in many ways, and there are a thousand different recipes. Some can take a few days and some I like to keep as long as possible, even for years. This specific recipe for Tunisian style preserved lemons is a very popular, and is paired with many dishes, including fish, seafood, poultry, meat, in your Shakshuka (yum!) and many more. They are also a wonderful ingredient in any sandwich! It’s popular especially in Tunisian tuna sandwiches, makes a great combo with some boiled potatoes and hard boiled egg.

You can chop it and add it to butter, mayonaise, couscous, rice, salads – everythings! It’s an instant flavor lifter. You can also process it to a smooth paste in the food prosessor, top it off with some olive oil and always have it handy in the fridge, a small teaspoon can go a long way and it will keep for about forever this way.

How to make it?

Get some beautiful organic lemons and wash them thourughly. Slice them into thin slices and remove the pits. Dip each slice on one side into a salt/paprika mix and push inside the jar

In between you can add some garlic, dried chili and bay leaves, all optional. Let the lemons sit for a night and see how the salt extracts the juices. Here is what you’ll see the following day:

With the juices reaching 3/4 of the jar, squeeze lemon juice and top it off until it just about covers the lemons.

Then top it off with olive oil and make sure everything is submerged under the liquids

If needed you can always use a weight to push everything down, either from ceramics or glass

And now we wait.. leave it in a shaded place out of direct sunlight for as long as you can, it will already taste good after a couple weeks, but I like to keep mine for months, the flavor keeps developing. Here’s an example of a fresh jar vs. one that is a few months old

I’m very curious what you’ll think. If you end up making these, please take a picture and tag me on Instagram @kerenruben or Facebook Keren’s Kitchen and let me know if you’ll be making another jar soon!

Recipe for one small Jar of Preserved Lemons:

Ingredients:

• 3-4 thinly sliced lemons, pits removed 
• Juice from about 2 lemons 
• ½ Tbsp sweet paprika 
• 1-2 Tsp chili flakes (or Harissa or Pilpelchuma) – optional
• 3 Tbsp Sea salt or kosher salt 
• 1 Bay leaf 
• 2 Garlic cloves, cut in half 
• Olive Oil to top it off 

🍋 Start by sterilizing your jar. Boil some water and fill the Jar with it. Let it sit for 5 minutes then let it dry. (do the same with the lid) – be very careful when doing this and make sure that your jar is not too cold, heat it with some warm tap water first, empty it and place it in your sink, then pour in the boiling water and let it sit for a few minutes.

🍋In a wide bowl, mix together the salt, paprika and chili flakes

🍋 Dip each lemon slice in the salt mixture on one side and push into the jar, do this with all slices and squish them together until ¾ full. In between, add the garlic cloves and bay leaf.

🍋 Close it tightly and let it sit at room temperature for 24 hours.

🍋 After 24 hours, squeeze everything to the bottom using a spoon and top it off with the lemon juice. Add olive oil to completely cover the lemons and everything in the jar.

🍋Let it sit in room temp for 2 weeks, without direct sunlight and not near a heater.
The lemons will only get better by the day, they can keep outside or in the fridge, as long as it’s sterilize and topped with olive oil it will last a long time.

🍋Grind it into a paste, chop it into chunks or add it as is to any dish, it’s sooo good!