Lemon confit with Guérande salt

Preparation

1. Start by washing the lemons.

2. Once thoroughly washed and dried, cut each lemon into quarters without going all the way to the ends, so that the lemons remain whole (i.e. all the quarters hang together).

3. Place 1 heaping tablespoon of coarse Guérande salt in each slit of each lemon, making sure to spread it evenly over the flesh. Close the lemon.

4. Stack the lemons vertically one against the other in the jar, making sure to pack them tightly.
   

5. Let the lemons and salt stand for 24 to 48 hours to release their juice.

6. Cover the lemons with 200ml of boiled then cooled water (up to the top of the jar to ensure that all the lemons are completely immersed).

7. If you can, place a glass weight (or other salt- and acid-resistant material) on top of the lemons inside the jar to prevent them from rising to the surface.

8. Leave the preserved lemons to ferment for at least 4 weeks at room temperature. For a successful recipe, optimal fermentation and concentration, it's best to leave the salt preserved lemons to ferment for 2 to 5 months in a cool cellar or cupboard at room temperature, away from light.

9. Serve in a vegetable tagine, chicken tagine, chicken with olives or in a homemade seasonal salad recipe. Lemons preserved in salt spice up sauces and go very well with white meats, but also with fish, to which they add great flavor thanks to their salt, slight bitterness and delicate acidity.

10. Once opened, preserved lemons can be stored in the jar in a cool place.

Add great flavor to your recipes and dishes with the deliciously salty, tangy notes and slight bitterness of salt-preserved lemons. It's the perfect seasoning with a clean taste and an almost umami flavor reminiscent of lemon, but with even greater depth and sweetness. Simple, quick, economical and zero-waste, preserving lemons with salt is also a smart way of preserving surplus lemons... And delicious!

In the kitchen, lemon confit with salt is perfect in spicy sauces such as chicken tagine, vegetable tagine and chicken with olives, as well as in mixed salads where it enhances fennel, carrots and chickpeas. Thinly sliced, it's also a perfect accompaniment to pan-fried vegetables, giving broccoli, peppers, zucchinis, carrots, leeks and eggplants a real kick.

Candied food can also be stored at room temperature for several months, replacing the need for a refrigerator. Lemon confit is in fact a fermented lemon whose shelf life is multiplied by the effect of salt, and whose vitamins and flavours develop over time.