Middle EasternComponent

Quick Preserved Lemon Paste

A same-day salty-sour lemon paste with softened peel, ready in about 30 minutes for recipes that otherwise need a jar of traditional preserved lemon.

Make-ahead

Hands-on11 minTotal time31 minEnergy · 100g24 kcalProtein · 100g0g

Recipe details

Equipment: Hob, Blender

Keep chilled after cooking

What finished weight are you making?

This is a component used inside other recipes rather than a meal on its own, so it scales as a batch rather than per person. Make it from the method below, or use the same finished amount of a ready-made version.

Makes about 200g in total.

Ingredients

Paste

Now we make

Method

11 min hands-on 31 min altogether

1
Pour boiling water into a clean 250ml heatproof jar and over its lid, leave for 1 minute, then empty and leave both to air-dry. Scrub 1½ large, unwaxed lemon, trim off and discard the ends, cut the lemon into 5mm rounds and remove the pips
🖐 5 min
2
Put the lemon rounds, 80ml lemon juice and 2¾ tsp flaked sea salt in a small lidded saucepan. Bring to a simmer, cover, lower the heat and cook for 12-14 minutes until the rind is translucent and the juice has reduced by about half
🖐 3 min💤 10 min unattended
3
Cool for 10 minutes, then blend the lemon and all its cooking liquid into a smooth, spoonable paste, adding a teaspoon of water only if needed. Transfer to the prepared jar, refrigerate and use within 1 month.
Already have traditional preserved lemon? Use the same weight of its peel, removing the soft pith before chopping.
🖐 3 min💤 10 min unattended

Look under the lid

Nutrition details

Nutrient density per 100g of this component - a %DV breakdown wouldn't mean much for something eaten in small amounts inside other recipes.

Explore full nutrition

Nutrition summary (per 100g)

At a glance

Higher inVitamin C

Calories

24kcal

5% cal

Protein

0.3g

88% cal

Carbs

5.3g

7% cal

Fat

0.2g

Small numbers, big impact

Everyday essentials

Fibre0.24g

Vitamin B120.00μg

Vitamin D0.00μg

Iodine0.00μg

Iron0.06mg

Zinc0.04mg

Calcium4.80mg

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