I've made salt-preserved lemons many times before: their intense flavor (nothing but lemon and salt, after all) brightens roasted chicken, lentil salads, marinated beans, sardine salad, and many other dishes. But this time I thought I'd add another aspect of flavor to this staple of my kitchen - fire.
I got 9 lemons for $2 at Haymarket, sliced them all up into thick slices, and saved the ends for another use. While grilling fish and veggies for dinner (see previous post), I threw the lemons on as well and grilled them just until slightly charred, then let them cool a little and layered them in jars with salt. Grilling them softened the flesh and allowed them to release juice far more readily than the fresh slices I'd used before. These packed easily into the jar, and I hard had to add any extra juice to top them off. I also added a touch of smoked salt with the layers of regular salt, for an additional smokiness. The warm juicy lemons smelled amazing before putting the lids on and leaving them to cool on the counter.
The stripes created by the charred edges of the lemons in contrast with the bright rinds make these jars beautiful pieces to display on a kitchen shelf or a shady windowsill. I take great joy in beautiful ingredients, whether it's colorful fresh produce or the varied hues of dried beans. It's both exciting to cook with these ingredients and satisfying merely to be surrounded by them in your kitchen. Cooking is my art, after all, and what classicist artist doesn't mix their own paints before beginning on a canvas?
With the lemon ends I made a ginger-lemon simple syrup to use in seltzer or mixed drinks, or as a base for ginger beer. I simply peeled and chopped up some fresh ginger, mixed with the lemon ends in a small saucepot, and added about 4 cups of water. Once it was hot I stirred in about 1 1/2 cups of sugar and let it sit on very low heat for about ten minutes. Then I took it off the heat and let it steep another ten minutes or so, until it was mostly cooled. Strained and put in a bottle, it's tucked in the fridge ready for use. In the end, the only parts of the lemon that weren't used were the loose seeds and stubby stems.
With the lemon ends I made a ginger-lemon simple syrup to use in seltzer or mixed drinks, or as a base for ginger beer. I simply peeled and chopped up some fresh ginger, mixed with the lemon ends in a small saucepot, and added about 4 cups of water. Once it was hot I stirred in about 1 1/2 cups of sugar and let it sit on very low heat for about ten minutes. Then I took it off the heat and let it steep another ten minutes or so, until it was mostly cooled. Strained and put in a bottle, it's tucked in the fridge ready for use. In the end, the only parts of the lemon that weren't used were the loose seeds and stubby stems. 
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