Preserved Lemons, Ottolenghi-style

Preserved lemons are a tangy, zippy must-have kitchen staple! This preserved lemon recipe is inspired by Ottolenghi's version in the Jerusalem cookbook. Once you taste a preserved lemon, you'll wonder where this deeply flavorful condiment has been all your life!

You might also enjoy preserved lemon vinaigrette.

For ease of browsing, find all my preserved lemon recipes in one place.

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Why you'll love this recipe!

This Ottolenghi-inspired condiment needs to be in your fridge now and here's why:

• Preserved lemons taste more like lemons than lemons do. Whether you cook Middle Eastern food or not, if you like citrus, this umami-rich version of a lemon will wow your taste buds. (umami is a Japanese term for savoriness and often referred to as the 5th taste in addition to sweet, sour, salty, and bitter) 
• It's so easy to make preserved citrus of any kind. You just need clean jars, unwaxed fruit, and kosher salt. And a little patience.
• If you want to add other flavors, you can. Such as fresh herb or peppers or peppercorns, etc.
• Preserved lemons will surprise you in their versatility - from savory to sweet. Check out this article I wrote with my Tasting Jerusalem co-founder, Sarene Wallace in Edible San Fernando Valley. We make blueberry muffins using preserved lemon purée and they are so so good!

Ingredients you'll need

Let's keep this simple: all you need to make preserved lemons is: lemons and salt.

Lemons: The most important thing is to use unwaxed lemons. One way to be sure your lemons are unwaxed is to buy organic. Or have a neighbor (like me) and just pop over and pick some of my Meyer lemons :-). Any variety of lemon will work; some lemons, like a Eureka, have a thicker rind than a Meyer will have. A Meyer is less acidic, though. So try different types of lemons and see what you like the best.

Kosher salt: I used Diamond Crystal but any brand is fine for this application. When baking or cooking, different salts change the salt level dramatically. But for the purpose of preserving citrus, you can get by without exact measurements.

How to make this recipe

(Printable recipe card is at the end of the post with ingredients measurements and step-by-step instructions. This section includes more and larger pictures and high level explanations of the process.)

Grab a quart-sized sterilized glass jar with a lid that seals tightly, your unwaxed lemons and your kosher salt and let's make some preserved lemons!

1. Cut a slit two ways in the lemon about ¾ of the way through it to create a space to stuff with salt. Using kosher salt, add about one tablespoon to each lemon – more or less depending on the size of the lemon.

3. Place them in the glass jar, squishing them in as tightly as possibly without smashing them. At this stage I follow the Ottolenghi preserved lemons method and just close the jar and wait a week. Immediately, you'll see juice appearing in the jar from the lemons.

4. After a week, add enough lemon juice to cover and any flavorings you want to add such as a spicy pepper, rosemary, thyme, ginger, black pepper. Whatever sounds exciting to your palate.

5. Now wait 3 more weeks, leaving the jar in a cool, dry, dark-ish place. After a month, check the lemon juice level and top off with a bit of olive oil to act as a plug to help the lemons stay immersed in the lemon juice. Place the jar in the fridge. They will last for a long time -- except that you will use them so much, that in actuality, they won’t last long at all.

Check out my preserved lemons web story for a quick visual guide on how easy it is to prepare a jar of preserved lemons.

Expert tips

1. Use kosher salt for the lemons, not iodized salt.
2. Some recipes for preserved lemons add the juice to cover the lemons from the very beginning along with the aromatics, rather than waiting a week. This works too!
3. Use organic, unwaxed lemons if at all possible. If not, be sure to scrub the outer skins well to remove any coating.
4. Remember to store the jar in a cool place, preferably under 70 degrees, until you refrigerate them. Warm environments are not optimal for preservation. 
5. UPDATE APRIL 2024: There is some new discussion among sources/experts about whether white mold is indeed harmless or not. When in doubt, throw the lemons out! My previous opinion (and what I've always done) was: If white mold develops on any of your lemons, it is generally harmless - just remove/rinse it off. And for sure, any other colors of mold are not good and if you see them, toss the lemons. I have rarely had any issues except a touch of white mold a couple times. And I lived to tell this tale.

Recipe FAQs

What to cook with preserved lemons

The only limit to using these preserved lemons is your imagination. But start with marinades, dressings, a topping for hummus or other dips, pasta, chicken, fish. Here are a few recipes to get you started:

P.S. If you try this recipe, please leave a star rating and/or a review in the comment section below. I so appreciate your feedback! AND find more inspiration on Pinterest, Facebook or Instagram. Signup for my email list, too!