Pickled vegetables in vivid colors decorate all our food, from falafel eaten out of hand to restaurant tables set with good china and cloth napkins. And there’s a good reason for that. The gem-like colors attract your eyes, then the sharp aroma of vinegar and salt rises up and makes your mouth water. You reach for a few slices of spicy, orange pickled carrots , or green cucumber well brined with garlic – some purple eggplant shiny with olive oil – some olives, in all of their black, green, or brown beauty – and munch. All of a sudden, you’re really hungry.
I discovered all kinds of uses for lemons when I moved to my present apartment. Come winter, the lemon tree in the common yard is loaded with bright yellow, juicy fruit. Having gotten tired of concocting sweet things from the lemons, I discovered a surprising way to use them in savory dishes: preserved in salt. Now I like to lay a slice of pickled lemon on top of a stew about 20 minutes before it’s done cooking; serve quarters of them in a little bowl to accompany lamb chops; chop slivers of them to mix into salad; stir-fry some and scatter them over fish.
The first of the following recipes was taken from Elizabeth David’s Spices, Salt, and Aromatics in the English Kitchen. It’s the recipe I usually use. The second comes from Claudia Roden’s Book of Middle Eastern Food (1974). This book has an updated version from 2004, The New Book of Middle Eastern Food. I haven’t made this recipe, but intend to for my next batch of preserved lemons. You can hardly go wrong with recipes by Claudia Roden.
Mmm, the idea of pickled lemons sauteed and served over fish sounds amazing!
[...] it up with paprika, a tiny amount of preserved lemon, a drizzle of olive [...]
Can the same thing be done when pickling other vegetables like cucumbers, tomatoes and peppers?
I’m not sure I understand your question. Do you mean, salting vegetables down and preserving them in their own juice, or in oil? In either case, no. Cucumbers, tomatoes, and peppers need to pickle in brine or a brine/vinegar solution.
Yes , that’s what I mean. I am looking for a way to pickle cucumbers, tomatoes and peppers too.
Mmm, pickled lemons sound good… What do they taste like?
To Cmto3 — as Mimi54 said, you do need a brine since most vegetables (like cucumbers) don’t have much juice to offer, with the exception of cabbage — sauerkraut (at least in Russia) is made only with salt, some spices, and a weight on top — though that’s fermentation, really… you can pickle cucumbers using salt and fermentation, but that still requires water. I’m not sure about other vegetables…
Masha,
I’d love to do a post on pickled bell peppers, but it’ll have to wait till I’ve finished my house move. There are notes on preserving vegetables in salt in the latest post, a guest entry by Leda Meredith.
Pickled lemons taste very, very lemony and salty.
Thanks! I am enjoying all the preserving posts! Can’t wait to read about the peppers.
I’ll look forward to it. I’m moving as well, so I understand everything must be quite a mess of confusion.
I would like to know where and how to use my pickled lemons.