Morrocan pantry staples... pickled lemons

Salamwalikoum,
So as most people have probably noticed by now, I'm crazy about cooking. It's my favorite pass time...
A passtime that my hubby is all too happy to indulge. lol

Now my husband being from morrocco, it is normal that he will miss homecooked foods from his homeland.
Happily when we got married i moved there for several months and was lucky enough to get a crash course in morrocan cooking from my mother and sisters in law.

Now for the most part the ingredients are widely available in north america, but sometimes you need that one thing that give it that special taste and substitutes just can't match.

And pickled lemons are just one of those things. I have tried replacing this ingredient with lemon juice, but it's just not quite right.

So here is my 1st post in a series on morrocan pantry staples.

Ingredients:
water
salt
4-5 lemons

Directions:
Cut the lemons in quarters, leaving a small portion at the bottom still attached.like this:

Pour 1-2 tsp of salt into the cut up lemon and place into a food grade storage jar.

Pour another tbsp of salt on top of the lemons and fill the container with water until the lemons are fully covered.

Now to seal you can either pour a bit of oil on top of the water or process in a water bath in a canning jar for 15 minutes.

Leave jar in a cool dark place to ferment. Usually takes about 2 weeks for them to be ready.

The pickling process removes the bitterness from the pith of the lemon. So the whole lemon can be cooked and will give the lemon taste without the biter.

I will eventually share recipes that use the lemons.

Good luck and take care.