The ingredient Padma Lakshmi calls “the unsung heroine of Moroccan cuisine”
In all her years as the host of “Top Chef,” cookbook author and TV personality Padma Lakshmi has tried her hand at all sorts of dishes. You might be wondering what kinds of ingredients she keeps on hand for cooking at home. One of her go-tos is preserved lemon, an interesting twist on a food that many people tend to have on hand. While you may have a fresh lemon or two hanging out in your fruit basket, ready to add a touch of tartness to whatever you’re cooking, a jar of preserved lemons isn’t as common an ingredient — and according to Lakshmi, it shouldn’t be.
Speaking with Delish, Lakshmi called preserved lemons “the unsung hero of Moroccan cuisine,” where they appear in dishes like tagines, salads, and stews. And it’s not hard to see why so many dishes from Moroccan, North African, Mediterranean, and Middle Eastern cuisines use this versatile ingredient—it manages to bring acidity, umami, and saltiness all at once. You can buy them pre-preserved, or if you have a little patience, make your own. It takes about a month of soaking the lemons in salt water to preserve them, and we even have an easy-to-make preserved lemon recipe to help you stock your Padma Lakshmi-approved pantry.
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How to use preserved lemons
Padma Lakshmi loves to simply toss preserved lemons in a pan with oil, garlic, and a lean protein for a quick and easy dinner, but they pair perfectly with a wide variety of dishes. So even if you never attempt Moroccan cuisine, you can definitely use preserved lemons. This simple ingredient tastes like a much more complex lemon, offering those characteristic fresh citrus flavor notes paired with salt, acidity, and umami. If a dish would benefit from a little acidity, lemon, or just something to add more depth of flavor, preserved lemons should do the trick.
You can try blending some preserved lemon into a refreshing cocktail or drizzling it over yogurt, soup, or roasted vegetables for an extra burst of flavor. If you’re worried about your dish tasting too salty with the addition of preserved lemon, you can rinse the lemon or consider using just the rind, as the flesh absorbs much more of the briny preserving liquid and can be the saltiest component of the lemon. And while they’ll keep for a long time in the pantry, preserved lemons that seem close to their expiration date can even be frozen in ice cube trays for later use in salad dressings, drinks, and more.
Read the original article on Mashed.
