Monday, August 01, 2011

Dinner Diary: 7/31/11 --Preserved Lemons Save Boring Pasta!


  • Farfalle with Fresh Corn, Zucchini, Cherry Tomatoes & Preserved Lemons
  • Yellow Watermelon




I threw together dinner last night for the three of us, using the fruits of our C.S.A. and our garden. I typically prefer kale or something a little more exciting than zucchini in my vegetarian pastas. But this dish turned out pretty great, and honestly I find that most of the vegetarian pastas I make that are really standout are the ones that include the rind of a quarter of a preserved lemon. I chop it fairly finely and toss it in with the garlic or towards the end.

The preserved lemon adds an almost umami-type flavor. It's salty and slightly exotic. You've asked what else to do with the preserved lemons. Do this! It's easy and it'll help a bundle on Meatless Mondays.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I've never used preserved lemons before and am interested in bringing the flavor into my dishes. How do you break them down? Do you just use the rind, cut them in quarters and add to the dish, such as the pasta that you presented, or some other method?

jacqueline f. said...

The typical way to use preserved lemons is to remove the flesh and just use rind, either minced or sliced. Some people use the flesh if it's within about a month of making the preserved lemons. I honestly have not tried doing that. Here is a link to a couple other ways to use the preserved lemons.

http://rocketlunch.blogspot.com/2011/02/what-to-do-with-those-preserved-lemons.html

And here is a link to how to make the lemons yourself (very easy and so satisfying!).

http://rocketlunch.blogspot.com/2011/02/preserved-lemons.html

Of course, I also recommend experimenting. Let me know how it works out! And thanks for stopping by.

J