Lamb With Preserved Lemons Recipes

MOROCCAN LAMB STEW WITH PRESERVED LEMONS

Steps:

• Trim excess fat and gristle from meat and cut lamb into 1-inch cubes. Place meat in a large bowl. In a small bowl, mix the cumin, ginger, cinnamon, and saffron; sprinkle over the meat and set aside.
• On a cutting board, mince together the orange zest, cilantro leaves, garlic, and salt until you have a paste. Add to the meat along with the orange juice and stir well to coat. Cover the bowl and let stand at room temperature for 2 hours, or up to overnight in the refrigerator.
• Transfer the mixture to a heavy pot, add the onions, tomatoes, and 1 cup water. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat, and simmer (or bake in a preheated 350 degree oven) until the meat is very tender, about 1 1/2 hours. Add olives and, if using, preserved lemon to the pot. Cook about 10 minutes more, then serve.
• Wash a 1-pint glass-canning jar and its lid with hot soapy water; rinse and dry thoroughly.
• Cut 6 of the lemons, 1 at a time, into quarters through 1 end without cutting all the way through the other end. You want the lemon to open out like a flower, but not to separate. Place the lemon on a large piece of parchment or waxed paper, spread quarters open and sprinkle flesh with a heaping tablespoon of kosher salt; put the lemon into the jar. Continue with remaining lemons, sprinkling salt on each. Pack the lemons in the jar tightly, filling it to the top (you may need more or less than 6 lemons, depending on their size). When you reach the top, lift the parchment and pour the excess salt from it into the jar of lemons.
• Slide the bay leaves down opposite sides of the jar. Juice the remaining lemons 1 by 1, adding juice to the jar, until it reaches the top. Seal jar, shake well, and let stand at room temperature, shaking well every 12 hours, for 1 week. After 1 week, transfer jar to the refrigerator, continuing to shake every day. Lemons are preserved after 3 weeks and keep up to several months in the refrigerator.
• To use lemons, pull out as needed and scrape away pulp. Dice peel and use as a condiment.

GRILLED LEG OF LAMB WITH PRESERVED LEMON

Steps:

• Halve preserved lemon; remove and discard seeds and flesh. Chop skin and pulse with garlic, shallot, chiles, mint and marjoram leaves, lemon zest and juice, and salt in a food processor until coarsely ground. Stir in oil. Reserve 3/4 cup marinade.
• Place lamb in a baking dish; rub with remaining marinade. Refrigerate, covered, overnight.
• 3. Let lamb stand at room temperature 1 hour. Heat grill to medium-high. Remove lamb from marinade, brushing off excess. Grill, covered, 8 minutes. Flip; continue cooking until a thermometer inserted in center reads 130 degrees for medium-rare, about 8 minutes more. Cover loosely with foil; let rest 20 minutes. Slice thinly and serve with herb sprigs, lemons, and reserved marinade.

ROLLED BUTTERFLIED LEG OF LAMB WITH HERBS AND PRESERVED LEMONS

Steps:

• Cut 1 preserved lemon in half; remove and discard seeds. Coarsely chop lemon; transfer to a food processor. Add rosemary, mint, garlic, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Process until coarsely ground. With processor running, pour in oil in a slow, steady stream; process until a thick paste forms.
• Spread herb mixture all over lamb; transfer to a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Cover; refrigerate 8 hours (or overnight).
• Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Season lamb with salt and pepper. Cut remaining preserved lemon into paper-thin rounds; discard seeds. Arrange rounds over one side of lamb. Starting from one narrow end, roll up lamb. Using kitchen twine, tie lamb crosswise at 1-inch intervals. Season with salt and pepper.
• Transfer lamb to a roasting pan just large enough to hold it. Roast 25 minutes. Add 1/2 cup water to pan; reduce heat to 400 degrees. Continue roasting until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the meat registers 120 degrees (for medium-rare), about 35 minutes.
• Tent with foil. Let rest 25 minutes (internal temperature will rise). Transfer to a cutting board; remove twine. Cut into thin slices. Serve with lemon wedges.

MOROCCAN LAMB CHOPS WITH PRESERVED LEMON GREMOLATA

Steps:

• Rinse lamb and blot dry. Trim as much fat away from rack as possible. Slice between rib bones, all the way through, to yield eight chops per rack. Place in large container.
• Combine Ras el hanout, 2 TBSPs of garlic, minced cilantro and olive oil. You might need more olive oil in order to obtain a smooth slather. Toss lamb chops in mixture and allow to stand at room temp for an hour or so.
• Sprinkle coated lamb chops generously with salt and pepper. Grill over hot fire or broil to desired doneness, only a few minutes per side. When internal temp reaches 130 degrees F, they are medium.
• After removing from cooking source and still hot, sprinkle with lemon juice. (You might get the same result with adding the lemon juice to the marinade mixture before the lamb is cooked).
• Prepare gremolata topping on same day you are serving the lamb. Remove pulp from preserved lemons and discard, keeping the rind. Then thoroughly rinse in cold water and mince finely. Roughly chop parsley leaves. Combine preserved lemon, parsley leaves, and remaining tsp of minced garlic. Sprinkle over lamb chops before serving.
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• Preserved lemon: I usually start with about 5 lbs of organic lemons, juicing enough of them to yield about a cup. Go for organic ones, otherwise they have a coating of wax on them to preserve shelf life in the supermarket. You will need a glass jar with an air-tight seal. Combine ~ a tablespoon of coriander seed with ~ a tablespoon of fennel seed. Place 1 bay leaf and 1 cinnamon stick in the bottom of glass jar. Have a small bowl of Kosher salt nearby. Slice lemons in quarters ALMOST down to stem end, but leave intact. Place coriander and fennel seed inside lemon and also fill with salt. Place cut side down into glass jar, squeezing as many into the jar as you can. As you squeeze them, some of the lemon juice is released, but not enough to fill the jar. Just continue packing in as many lemons as you can and add additional salt between layers of lemon. Top off with freshly squeezed lemon juice. Then refrigerate for a month before using. I think this is Jamie Oliver's technique, but there are many out there. He has also suggested doing this with other citrus, like limes and mandarin oranges. Meyer lemons work nicely. Some techniques suggest a layer of olive oil on top, and this works well, too. If refrigerated, they last indefinitely.