Salted lemon: recipe, application. Chicken with salted lemons

In different latitudes their culinary traditions. At us lemons are used as the additive in tea, their juice start up in business at a batch and salads preparation, slices are put in fish at its baking, but also only. In Africa, especially in Tunisia and Morocco, lemon salty, which is almost an obligatory component in the creation of meat, fish dishes, sauces, sauces and salads, is highly respected. To many, the combination of acid and salt will seem dubious, suspicious and incompatible. However, brave people who tried the North African recipe, recognized the lemon salty exotic, but edible and interesting ingredient. Moreover, at home it is used only as a part of different dishes, our people have adapted it for an independent snack and highly recommends as accompaniment to any strong drinks.

The classic Moroccan recipe

In the traditional way, how to prepare salted lemons, their keeping in brine is considered - and it will be necessary to wait a whole month to try an unusual seasoning. Take eight medium, juicy, thin citrus, extremely carefully, brushed, washed. Each fruit is cut along a criss-cross, but not completely to the end. In each cut of lemon, a teaspoon of sea food salt is laid . Love spicy - you can enter along with it a little mixture of three spoons of coriander, two - freshly ground pepper, the same volume of fennel, crushed laurel leaf, pinch of cinnamon and three quarts of cardamom spoon. Citruses are densely packed into a sterilized jar and filled with salt at the rate of a teaspoon for every four pieces. The lids tightly tighten and put in the pantry for three days. Then the lemons are densely packed. If the allocated juice is not enough for a full coating, the freshly added is added, and the cans are closed again. A month later the salted lemon can be used for its intended purpose. And he kept a whole year, true, only in the cool.

Fast Ambassador

If you are not ready for such a long wait, when you can try a salted lemon, you will have to resort to the express method. To do this, the citrus is again diligently washed, cut into fairly large slices, folded into a deep bowl and poured with broken laurus, buds of cloves, peppercorns (all spices - at your discretion) and large salt - generously. Lemon slices are well kneaded, laid out on the banks, where the cinnamon stick is put in, they are closed and until tomorrow they are put in the refrigerator. By evening, the salty lemon can already introduce you to the taste preferences of Africa. Although completely it will "open" yet after another day.

With hot peppers

This is also a "quick" salted lemons: the recipe guarantees that they will be ready in three days. Of course, longer than in the previous version, but in comparison with the classics is still fast. Four fruits for five minutes fall into boiling water, quickly cooled under a stream of water and wiped dry. Lemons are cut into eight lobules along the axis, mixed with sliced two bitter peppers, a hundred grams of large salt and put in a jar, where there are a couple of branches of rosemary. The contents are filled with an incomplete glass of juice of the same citrus - and in the refrigerator. As soon as the crust becomes soft, the salted lemon can be put into operation. Sometimes and for two days he "ripens". The maximum shelf life is six months, but almost always the exotic is eaten much faster.

Lemons whole

In most recipes, citrus fruits are cut at a certain stage - in slices or in the form of a flower. A lemon salted, cooked by this method, remains intact. By the way, this particular appetizer was loved by Peter the Great. A strong pickle is prepared - a raw egg in it should not be drowned. Approximately three glasses of water one - salt. For a thicket of spice, you can add laurel, coriander, zir - yes, in general, almost any spices that you like. Citruses are poured with a solution, they put a load - and in the refrigerator. They are ready soon. A sign of the desired condition will be a soft crust and translucent flesh.

Recipe with oil

You can prepare a favorite dish and for future use. Quite an original way, by the way: lemons are cut thick enough, in half a centimeter, circles. Each falls in salt from both sides and folds into a jar. The layers are interspersed with chopped garlic and chili. When the container is full three-quarters, the juice from the other citrus is squeezed from above. As soon as the canned salted lemons are covered with liquid, olive oil is poured on top (you can have more oil, but not aromatized) so that it will tighten the entire surface. It is this film that prevents the penetration of bacteria inside. The first two weeks the ukuporennye banks are kept in the light in the room, after they hide in the refrigerator.

Dry pickling

Canned salted lemons can be obtained in another way. Piece seven fruits are poured with water on the half-finger above the top barrel. On high heat, they cook until softening, then the gas turns off, and the citrus is left for four hours in a saucepan. Next, lemons are wrung from excess moisture, deeply, but not through, cut with a cross and covered with a mixture of half a glass of large table salt, a teaspoon of cumin, two - a melted paprika and a dessert spoon of pea. Lemons are added to a sterile jar, they are filled with the remnants of the mixture and are corked. A month later a salty lemon will be at your fingertips at any time. In this form, it does not deteriorate until two years, if kept in a cool.

Chicken in Moroccan style

If you cooked or bought salted lemons, you can find a variety of uses for it, which would not have occurred to the authors of the recipe. For example, the housewives praise their use in preparing the saltwort. However, those who are interested in indigenous North African recipes, in the first place should be mastered chicken with salted lemons. The large carcass is rubbed first with a mixture of ground cumin, ginger and turmeric (in equal proportions), after - crushed garlic (two lobules), peppered, salted and in the package for half a day hides in the refrigerator. The next day, two chicken liver are put in a large saucepan with grated two garlic and onions plus a spoonful of lean oil, water is poured in, and after choking, put the chicken. On a quiet fire under the lid, it will cook for about an hour and a half. Salted lemon is cut by strips and laid out to the finished chicken along with the large olives.

Original salad

Those who are afraid to try lemon salted in their pure form (despite the recommendations of compatriots), can start with a more familiar snack. A little almonds are blanched and dry for three minutes, fried with stirring, until gently golden. From the washed salt lemon skin is removed - it goes into the salad - dried and cut with thin stripes. A few leaves of different salads forgive the dish, it is laid out eight slices of salmon (traditionally recommended cold-smoked fish), almonds and lemon. Salad is sprinkled with lemon juice and olive oil, podsalivaetsya, peppers and served to the table.

Lamb in African style

This kind of meat is typical for Moroccan cuisine. However, if you are confused by the negatively advertised smell, you can replace it with beef, but not pork. A slice without bones of 800 grams is cut into pieces. A large onion and two large garlic heads are cut. In lean oil, both are fried until transparent, after which add turmeric, coriander (and ground, and in grains) and a mixture of peppers - all on a teaspoonful. The lamb is put in and is fried for a few minutes until a beautiful crust is formed. Then a third of a liter of strong broth pours in, and the dish under the lid is stewed for an hour. Two salty lemons are washed, cut into quarters, added to the container, and the quenching lasts another half an hour. After that, olives are thrown up, after about ten minutes the meat is crushed with chopped cilantro and is hungry in the company with couscous.