Lemons every which way

My wee lemon tree has gone above and beyond the call of duty this autumn - out laying a huge bounty of large juicy lemons.

Lemons are so versatile. Sweet, savoury, in drinks, in desserts. One of my favourite (and so very very easy) concoctions is preserving lemons for use in savoury dishes. The culinary gurus (in this case Annabel Langbein) are right - they do add something special to stews, roasts, rissottos and the like.

Try this for yourself...

Cut 2 lemons cut into six segments and freeze overnight. Place in sterilised jar and add 2 teaspoons salt, the juice of 1 lemon and a bay leaf. Top up jar with a neutral oil (grapeseed, light olive oil).

They can be used after one week but definitely improve over several months. To use, scoop out and discard the flesh and thinly slice the rinds.

Personalise the jars to make a great gift for foodie friends.

Preserving and Saving

Autumn and the smell of the air has changed. On the sea it has become more metallic and on the land it has a colder sharper tone in the evening so that the warm scented days and the stunning sunsets are really appreciated.

At sea we have been catching kawhai and smoking it with our neighbour's fish in our home made smoker, made (or should I say hand crafted with love!) from our old stove and a gas burner. The wafting smell of the manuka smoking is very autumnal and bonfire like.

In the garden I have been removing all the tomato plants and in the kitchen preserving the last tomatoes. I thought I would have a go at freezing them, I know this is not the usual thing to do, but somehow I just didn't feel like fiddling with all the canning stuff. I wanted to get on with it and get it done.

Funny how we are packing and preserving a bit like squirreling away nuts for the season ahead!
Blue