Preserved lemon newb (vegetarian edition)

February 14, 2019 6:53 PM

I have a jar of preserved lemons and I'm vegetarian, so what dinner is in my future? What is their flavor? How long does an open jar keep?
posted by Jason and Laszlo to Food & Drink (9 answers total)

I love preserved lemons! I'm actually about to make a new batch myself. Here's a bunch of recipes. (not all are veg, but most) I've made the strozzapreti and the eggplant dish. Would recommend. Open jars last a super long time in the fridge, like over a year if you keep the lemons all under the juice. you can add more lemon juice if you need a top-up. I usually go through mine super fast because they are sooo good, but I've given some to friends and they haven't gone off even if they take longer than I do to eat them.
posted by ananci at 7:08 PM on February 14, 2019 [1 favorite]

North African and Eastern Mediterranean dishes are very adaptable for vegetarians. Ottolenghi and Claudia Roden are good guides.

And yes, they keep a long time open in the fridge as long as you keep them fully covered.
posted by holgate at 8:19 PM on February 14, 2019 [1 favorite]

You could do worse that hitting the library and flipping through Yotam Ottolenghi/Sammi Tamimi's books for ideas. Plenty is all veg and several of their other books feature preserved lemons heavily.

A sampling:
Roasted beets with tomato-lemon relish and dill yogurt
Chermoula eggplant with bulgur and yogurt
Okra with tomato, preserved lemon and coriander
Carrot salad with serrano chile and preserved lemon
Watermelon and feta salad with olives and preserved lemon
Stuffed portobellos with pearled barley and preserved lemon
posted by bcwinters at 8:24 PM on February 14, 2019 [2 favorites]

I had a Tom Collins with preserved lime, but I'm sure you can do a similar drink with lemon.

Also look for Persian dishes for ideas.
posted by source.decay at 8:36 PM on February 14, 2019

Just put it in everything. Everything. Chop the peel and eat that raw or fried up in the frying pan. But most of all, use the peel and juice in all of your dressings, that should go on everything from your pasta salad, to green salad to farro salad to rice salad...
posted by Toddles at 9:57 PM on February 14, 2019

They are delicious when chopped up and sprinkled over meals like Chickpea tagine!
posted by betafilter at 4:15 AM on February 15, 2019 [1 favorite]

I made this Moroccan Vegetable Pot just the other day, and it was very good, and I believe actually vegan, not just vegetarian. It requires 75g of preserved lemons.
posted by skybluepink at 7:04 AM on February 15, 2019

Because nobody explicitly told me this, to my woe: the peel is delicious; preserved lemon flesh is foul and should be discarded.

Agree that tagine is a typical, veg-friendly use.
posted by momus_window at 10:58 AM on February 15, 2019 [2 favorites]

Taste your preserved lemon flesh before you write it off! If you salt your own store-bought lemons, it's edible; if you salt home-grown, ripe lemons, it's delicious.
posted by yarntheory at 4:29 PM on February 15, 2019