In different latitudes, their culinary traditions. In our country, lemons are used as an additive in tea, their juice is put into action when baking and preparing salads, slices are put into fish when it is baked, but that's all. In Africa, especially in Tunisia and Morocco, salted lemon is highly respected, which is an almost mandatory component in the creation of meat, fish dishes, sauces, gravy and salads. To many, the combination of acid and salt will seem doubtful, suspicious, and incompatible. However, courageous people who have tested the North African recipe, recognized lemon salty exotic, but edible and interesting ingredient. Not only that, at home it is used only as part of various dishes, but our people adapted it for an independent snack and highly recommends it as an accompaniment to any strong drinks.
Classic Moroccan Recipe
The traditional way how to cook salted lemons is considered to be aging in brine - and you will have to wait a whole month to try an unusual seasoning. Eight medium, juicy, thin-bark citruses are taken, very carefully, brushed, washed. Each fruit is cut along crosswise, but not quite to the end. In each cut of lemon, a teaspoon of edible sea salt is laid . Love spicy - you can introduce with it a little mixture of three spoons of coriander, two - just ground pepper, the same volume of fennel, crumbled bay leaf, a pinch of cinnamon and three quarters of a spoon of cardamom. Citruses are tightly packed in a sterilized jar and filled with salt at the rate of a teaspoon for every four pieces. The lids tightly twist and put into the pantry for three days. Then lemons are densely packed. If the juice released is not enough for full coverage, freshly squeezed is added, and the cans are closed again. After a month, salted lemon can be consumed for its intended purpose. But it is stored for a whole year, however, only in cool.
Quick ambassador
If you are not ready to wait so long when you can try salty lemon, you will have to resort to the express method. To do this, citruses are again carefully washed, cut into rather large slices, stacked in a deep bowl and sprinkled with broken up parsley, clove buds, peas (all spices are at your discretion) and coarse salt - generously. Lemon slices are thoroughly kneaded, laid out in jars, where cinnamon sticks are still placed, closed and put into the refrigerator until tomorrow. By evening, salty lemon can already introduce you to the taste preferences of Africa. Although it will completely “unfold”, still in a day.
With hot pepper
These are also “quick” salted lemons: the recipe ensures that they will be ready in three days. Of course, longer than in the previous version, but compared to the classics it’s still fast. Four fruits fall into boiling water for five minutes, quickly cool under running water and wipe dry. Lemons are cut into eight slices along the axis, mixed with chopped two bitter peppers, one hundred grams of coarse salt and put in a jar, where a couple of sprigs of rosemary lie. The contents are filled in with an incomplete glass of the same citrus juice - and in the refrigerator. Once the crust is soft, salted lemon can be put into action. Sometimes it "ripens" in two days. The maximum shelf life is six months, but almost always exotic eats up much faster.
Whole Lemons
In most recipes, citruses are cut at a certain stage - into slices or in the form of a flower. And the salty lemon cooked by this method remains intact. By the way, just such an appetizer was loved by Peter the Great. A strong pickle is being prepared - a raw egg should not sink in it. Approximately three glasses of water, one - salt. For greater spice, you can add laurel, coriander, zira - but in general almost any spices that you like. Citruses are poured with a solution, a load is placed on them - and in the refrigerator. They will be ready soon. A sign of the desired condition will be a soft crust and a translucent flesh.
Butter Recipe
You can prepare your favorite dish for the future. Quite an original way, by the way: lemons are cut quite thick, in half a centimeter, circles. Each rolls in salt from both sides and folds into a jar. Layers sprinkled with chopped garlic and chili. When the capacity is three quarters full, juice from other citruses is squeezed from above. Barely canned salted lemons are covered with liquid, olive oil (maybe another, but not aromatized) oil is poured on top so that it covers the entire surface. It is this film that prevents the penetration of bacteria into the interior. The first two weeks, sealed cans are kept in the light in the room, after which they hide in the refrigerator.
Dry salting
Canned salted lemons can be obtained in another way. A piece of seven fruits is poured with water half a finger above the top barrel. On high heat, they are boiled until softened, then the gas is turned off, and citruses are left for four hours in a saucepan. Then lemons are squeezed from excess moisture, deeply, but not through, cut with a cross and filled with a mixture of half a glass of coarse salt, a teaspoon of caraway seeds, two - ground paprika and a dessert spoon of peas. Lemons are stacked in a sterile jar, filled with the rest of the mixture and sealed. In a month, the salty lemon at your fingertips will be at any time. In this form, it does not deteriorate until two years, if kept cool.
Moroccan Chicken
If you have prepared or bought salted lemons, you can find the most diverse application for them, which the authors of the recipe would never have imagined. For example, housewives praise their use in the preparation of hodgepodge. However, those who are interested in the original North African recipes, the chicken with salted lemons should be mastered first. A large carcass is first rubbed with a mixture of ground cumin, ginger and turmeric (in equal proportions), then - with crushed garlic (two slices), pepper, salted and hidden in a bag for half a day in the refrigerator. The next day, two chicken livers are placed in a large pan with two garlic and grated onion plus a spoonful of vegetable oil, water is poured, and after boiling, the chicken is put. On a quiet fire under the lid, it will cook for about an hour and a half. Salted lemon is cut into strips and laid out to the finished chicken along with large olives.
Original salad
Those who are afraid to try pure salty lemon (despite the recommendations of compatriots) can start with a more familiar snack. A little almonds blanch and dry for three minutes, fried with stirring, until pale golden color. The skin is removed from the washed salted lemon - it is it that goes to the salad - it is dried and cut into thin strips. A dish is spread over several leaves of different lettuce, eight slices of salmon are laid on it ( cold smoked fish is traditionally recommended ), almonds and lemon. The salad is sprinkled with lemon juice and olive oil, salted, peppered and served.
African lamb
This meat is typical for Moroccan cuisine. However, if you are confused by a negatively advertised smell, you can replace it with beef, but not pork. A boneless chunk of 800 grams is cut into pieces. A large onion and two large heads of garlic are chopped. In vegetable oil, both of them are fried until transparent, after which turmeric, coriander (both ground and beans) and a mixture of peppers are added - all on a teaspoon. Mutton is embedded and fried for several minutes until a beautiful crust. Then a third of the strong broth is poured, and the dish under the lid is stewed for an hour. Two salted lemons are washed, cut into quarters, added to the bowl, and stewing continues for another half hour. Next olives are thrown, after ten minutes the food is flavored with chopped cilantro and carried hungry in the company of couscous.