PRESERVED LEMONS (1)
The simplest way to do preserved lemons. Done this way, the lemons remain quite firm and it is best to add them at the beginning of recipes like daubes, tajines or casseroles which require long, slow cooking.
Cut the lemons in quarters, not quite through to the bottom, and open them up like a flower with 4 petals. Pack 2 tablespoons of coarse salt into the center of each lemon, pushing it down well. Choose a Kilner jar (glass, wide-mouthed, with a rubber seal) into which the lemons will just fit. Press the salt-stuffed lemons tightly into the jar and snap the lid shut.
Leave for about 1 week in the fridge, during which you will periodically open up the jar and press them down firmly. They should make plenty of their own juice – enough to completely cover them. If not, add a layer of olive oil on top to exclude air. Re-cover and leave for another 2 weeks before using.
To use, rinse the peel and dice small; discard pith and pips. Cook the peel in with meat, fish or vegetable tajines or daubes.
PRESERVED LEMONS (2)
In this recipe from Thierry Voisin, chef at Les Crayeres in Reims, the lemons are first blanched, then packed into jars and covered with a sweet-salty syrup. They are a bit softer and less salty than in the first recipe and hardly need any further cooking. Both kinds will keep for several months.
4 lemons
100g coarse salt
150g sugar
½ litre water
several sprigs of fresh thyme
olive oil
Blanch the fruit three times in boiling water, discarding the water each time and starting again with fresh. Drain and pack the lemons into a jar just large enough to take them all. Dissolve the salt and sugar in the water and pour it (hot) over the fruit. Cover tightly and refrigerate for 3-4 weeks before broaching.
PEPPER, APPLE AND TOMATO CHUTNEY
Each year a team of about a dozen of us makes over 250 Cornish Pasties for the Anglican Church Bazaar in Basel – 18 kg beef, 10 kg each of carrots, onions and potatoes and about 36 kg of pastry. With them we serve this brilliant brick-red, sweetish chutney. A food processor makes light work of the chopping.
Makes about 8 x 450g jars
1 kg tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 kg apples, quartered, cored and chopped
4 large onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, mashed
4 red peppers (or green, but the colour will be dreary), seeded and chopped
4 fresh green or red chillies, seeded and finely chopped
a walnut-sized piece of fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
750g sugar
200g sultanas
2 tbsp salt
1 litre wine vinegar or Melfor
Put the prepared tomatoes, apples, onions, garlic, peppers, chillies and ginger in a preserving pan. Add the sugar, sultanas, salt and vinegar and stir well to mix and dissolved the sugar a bit. Close the kitchen doors, switch on the extractor, bring the chutney to a rolling boil and simmer it steadily for about 45 minutes. It should reduce by about one-third. Be careful towards the end that it doesn’t catch and burn on the bottom.
Tip into the jars, cover tightly and keep for a month before using.
SEVILLE ORANGE MARMALADE
It’s just about the time of year when Seville oranges come into the shops. Here’s an easy way to make marmalade, particularly good if the oranges are a bit dry.
Makes 8-10 x 450g jars
1.5 kg Seville oranges (about 12)
water
2.5 kg white sugar
(for a dark marmalade, use 2 kg white sugar and 500g soft brown sugar)
Scrub the oranges well, put them in a large pan and add water just to cover them. Simmer until completely soft and a fingernail will easily pierce the rind – about 30 minutes. (Or cook them in a pressure cooker with 1 litre water at max. pressure for 10-15 minutes, or in the microwave covered with water and clingfilm for 15 minutes on maximum, until soft.)
Lift the oranges out of the water and reserve the water. Cut the oranges in half and scoop out all the pith and pips. Put this back in the pan with the reserved water and simmer for 15 minutes to extract all the pectin. Strain this through a sieve, pressing down hard. Discard the gunge. Make up the liquid to 2 litres. Chop or slice the orange peel to the desired thickness.
Put a small saucer in the freezer to check setting point of the marmalade. Take a large preserving pan and put the orange peel, 2 litres liquid and the sugar in it. Bring gently to the boil, then boil hard until setting point is reached. Be careful it doesn’t boil over. Test for setting by tipping a little into the chilled saucer. Draw a finger through the marmalade: it should leave a distinct channel, like Moses and the Red Sea, and the surface of the marmalade will wrinkle slightly. If not set, continue to boil.
Pour into clean, warm jars and cover while still hot.
BABY GOATS’ CHEESES IN OIL
It’s good to have a stock of these squirreled away in the fridge for emergencies. They keep beautifully for several months, during which time the flavour develops nicely, without them ever becoming unbearably goaty. Be sure to use the small, fresh, soft goats’ cheeses (Chevretines or similar). Use them in salads, on top of quiches, frittatas or pizzas, or grilled over salads.
For 10 goats’ cheeses
10 small, fresh goats’ cheeses
olive oil to cover
sprigs of thyme
3-4 cloves garlic, peeled
Choose a Kilner jar into which the cheeses will just fit. Layer them in the jar with the thyme sprigs and garlic cloves. Cover completely with olive oil, snap the lid shut. Put them in the fridge and keep for 2-3 weeks, if you can bear to keep your paws off them.
