Virtual Supper Club - Pucker up with Lemons

I know this is only my second month with this group but I could hardly wait for February. Pucker Up for Valentines Day with these lemony treats. All these  recipes sound so enticing.

 

I have made Preserved Lemons before but this recipe had a twist by using saffron. The colour was so delightful. I have always used my preserved lemons in a tagine and wanted, again, to try something new and this salad really caught my eye.
Now check out the rest of the menu and enjoy!

              

                Susan - Chicken Rice Avgolemono with Dill
                    Val - Lemon Ginger Fried Chicken
                    Jerry - Fennel Salad with Meyer Lemon
                    Roz - Lemon Polenta Cake with Winter Fruit Compote 
                    Sandi - Limoncello

Tomato Salad with Avocado and Preserved Lemons

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 1/2 cup)

Cooking Light

    4 cups diced plum tomato (about 2 pounds)

    1 tablespoon minced preserved lemons

    2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

    1/2 teaspoon salt

    1 diced peeled avocado

    2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

    Combine first 5 ingredients. Sprinkle with parsley.

I decided to present this salad in two different ways. The recipe suggest dicing the tomatoes and avocados and tossing with lemon juice.

I also decided to make it as a composed salad in the picture above. In both I used a nice coarse sea salt as garnish.





 

Preserved Lemons

Cooking Light

Preserved lemons are a classic Moroccan condiment.  I have used them in a tagine or Moroccan stew but a couple of sliced added to basmati rice would be divine. In this recipe saffron is added for an earthy flavor and a beautiful golden orange color. Pack in a wide-mouth glass pint container.

I made my preserved lemons two ways, also. In one jar I cut the lemons into quarters, almost but not quite through at the top so they are still in one piece. In the other jar, I sliced the lemons and stacked them to fill the jar. The sliced lemons are with salt only and no saffron. You can see the difference in colour.

Usually you only use the peel of the preserved lemon. If you use the flesh, be sure to adjust the salt in your recipe because these are preserved in salt.

    1 tablespoon kosher salt

Lemons 2 ways - whole with saffron and sliced with only salt.

    1/2 teaspoon saffron threads, crushed

    2 cups thinly sliced lemon (about 3 lemons)

    1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

    1 tablespoon olive oil

    Combine salt and saffron. Place one lemon slice in bottom of a wide-mouth 2-cup glass container. Sprinkle with a dash of salt mixture. Repeat layers with the remaining lemon slices and salt mixture. Cover and let stand at room temperature 3 days.

    After 3 days, press the lemon slices down with a spoon. Pour the juice and oil over lemon slices. Place a ramekin, custard cup, or clean decorative stone on top of lemon slices (to weigh them down). Cover and let stand at room temperature 5 days. Remove weight, and cover with lid of container.

    Note: Preserved lemons can be stored at room temperature for up to a month or refrigerated for up to 6 months.