[Sca-cooks] Preserved Lemon Recipes - Modern - One

[lilinah at earthlink.net]

Duke Cariadoc already sent the only SCA-period recipe that uses 
preserved lemon that has been translated into English that i know of.

But in his long essay on Medieval Arab cuisine and cookbooks, 
"Studies in Arabic Manuscripts Related to Cookery" (republished in 
"Medieval Arab Cookery"), Maxime Rodinson notes there is a recipe for 
making preserved lemon and 3 recipes using it in al-Kitab al-wusla 
ila al-habib fi wasf al-tayyibat wa al-tib, which he translates as 
"The Book of the Bonds of Friendship or a Description of Good Dishes 
and Perfumes" (but is also sometimes called "The Book of the Link to 
the Beloved").

While this book contains a number of recipes repeated in 
al-Baghdadi's "al-Kitab al-Tabikh", it also has even more that are 
not. And unfortunately the preserved lemon recipes have not been 
translated into English to the best of my knowledge. In a foot note, 
Rodinson says that in the recipe for making preserved lemons, "The 
lemon is split lengthwise and then filled with coarse salt. It is 
left thus for two nights and then kept in lemon juice covered with 
oil." (footnote 1, p. 144, "Medieval Arab Cookery")

I'll be typing in modern preserved lemon recipes a few at a time. I 
haven't tried these recipes, but they're from books i trust, from 
which i've cooked other recipes.

Urtatim (that's err-tah-TEEM)
the persona formerly known as Anahita

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The Scent of Orange Blossoms: Sephardic Cuisine from Morocco
Kitty Morse and Danielle Mamane
Ten Speed Press: Berkeley CA, 2001

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Preserved Lemon Relish
Makes about 1 cup

Serve with roasted meats or kebabs.
Prepare a day or two ahead of time.

3 preserved lemons, rinsed under running water
4 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 Tb. sweet Hungarian paprika
5 Tb. white distilled vinegar
1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil
10 sprigs parsley, finely chopped

Finely dice lemon rind. Return pulp to containers of lemons for future use.
In a bowl, combine rind with garlic, paprika, vinegar, and oil.
Place mixture in a tightly sealed container and refrigerate for at 
least 2 hours.
Return to room temperature and sprinkle with parsley before serving.
Relish will keep for up to one month in  a tightly sealed container 
in the refrigerator.

Urtatim's Notes:
Please use a good quality paprika, and not the average stuff the 
supermarket sells.
Please use a good quality olive oil, and not that pale yellow stuff.
While the authors specify distilled white vinegar, i suspect if you 
use white wine vinegar it will be good.

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Bean Soup with Preserved Lemons
Serves 6

1Tb. sweet Hungarian paprika
2 Tb. virgin olive oil
2 c. dried baby lima beans, soaked and drained
2 bay leaves
5 c. chicken stock
12 cloves garlic, peeled
1 Tb. ground cumin
2 large tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and coarsely chopped
2 Tb. tomato paste
2 lamb or chicken sausages (about 4 oz)
1/2 to 3/4 preserved lemon rind
1/8 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
2 tsp. salt

In a small bowl blend paprika with 2 Tb olive oil and mix until it 
forms a paste.
In a large pot over medium-high heat, cook the paprika paste, 
stirring, until it darkens slightly, about 2 or 3 minutes.
Add the beans, bay leaves, and stock, and stir to blend.
Cover and bring to a boil for 2 to 3 minutes, then decrease heat to low.
Cook until the beans are tender, 1 to 1-1/4 hours.
Discard bay leaves.
Add garlic, cumin, tomatoes, and tomato paste, and stir to blend.
Cover and cook for 25 to 30 minutes.

Slice sausages.
In a small skillet, heat remaining 1 Tb olive oil over medium-high heat.
Add the sausages and cook, turning, until no longer pink, 4 to 5 minutes.

Dice lemon rind and add it according to taste to beans, along with 
pepper, salt, and sausage.
Heat through and serve with a good crusty bread.

Note: the general instructions for soaking beans include rubbing the 
soaked beans to remove their skins before cooking.

Urtatim notes: i bet this would work with little dried fava beans.

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Tomato Salad with Preserved Lemons
Serves 4

4 vine-ripened tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and cubed
2 to 4 tsp. diced preserved lemon rind
1/8 tsp. salt
1 Tb. red wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar
4 to 5 green olives, sliced, or 8 whole dry-cured black olives
[get good olives ("fresh" or bottled), not canned olives]
1 small jalapeno pepper, peeled, seeded, and diced

Place tomatoes in a colendar and drain 30 minutes.
In a small bowl combine all ingredients and mix thoroughly.
Serve at room temperature.

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Chard Salad with Preserved Lemon
Serves 8

3 Tb. virgin olive oil
5 cloves garlic, minced
one 12-ounce bunch red chard, stemmed and chopped
one 12-ounce bunch white chard, stemmed and chopped
rind of 1/4 preserved lemon, finely diced
1 Tb. freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
fresh lemon slices for garnish

Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat
Add garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden, 2 to 3 minutes.
Add chard a handful at a time.
Using 2 wooden spoons, toss until cooked about 3 to 4 minutes.
Continue in this manner until all the chard is used.
Add preserved lemon rind, fresh lemon juice, salt, and pepper.
Toss to blend.
Transfer to a serving bowl.
Garnish with fresh lemon slices and serve at room temperature.
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