Lemons

It’s difficult to imagine any kitchen without lemons. There is no other ingredient that can transform a dish in a single squeeze. Choose lemons that are brightly coloured and heavy for their size, with a thin, undamaged skin. Lemons contain an excellent amount of vitamin C, lots of sharp, acidic juice, and also a fragrant oil that’s found in the zest.

We are lucky enough to have a few big lemon trees in our vegetable garden and every year we have an abundance of lemons to cook with. We always preserve some in salt to use throughout the year and they make nice culinary gifts for our guests. Known in Morocco as l’hamd marakad (sleeping lemons), many Middle Eastern recipes call for preserved lemons, but they are also the perfect condiment for all types of sauces, vinaigrettes and salad dressings. The flavour is soft, yet intensely lemony, with none of the nose-tickling, bright high notes of the fresh lemon. Preserving lemons is also very easy to do at home, although it does take at least three or four weeks before they are ready to use.