Tings Lisbon has a huge Lemon Tree in the garden. Once a year we salt-preserve the lemons

We grow our own lemons in Tings Lisbon's Garden

I don’t know how people dealt with Covid. How they manage not going crazy of boredom and lack of social life.

I “played” with food in our kitchen.

Most of my recipes are the extracts of a lifetime of food experiences from travelling all over the world where eating locally of course has been an important part the experience.

At one point we have had eaten enough to get idea behind the local cuisine and need something else. When that happens I start playing around with the local ingredients and make my own versions of dishes we have tasted the previous weeks and creating brand new recipes based on what is available locally. 

This way of cooking was the ‘dogma’ behind Tings tea Lounge in Kathmandu: Healthy and affordable non-local dishes based on local ingredients… 

People loved it. 

When Covid forced us to close down Kathmandu our lounge had been among the most popular international restaurants since we opened in 2010.

So in order not to get crazy I used our food dogmas and imagined different parts of the world based on whatever I could get hold of as locally as possible and started cooking. 

People have preserved Lemons for ages - and in all cultures.

When we started up Tings Tea Lounge in Kathmandu we only had electricity 6 hrs every day – way to little to keep the fridge cold. So the lack of cooling facilities forced us to think differently.

Like using our great-grandmothers cooking techniques from the time before the fridge. That’s how rillettes de wildboa (Hindus don’t eat pork and veal but wildboa and buff) and confits de chicken (local ducks are impossible to eat) – entered our menu. These French Classics were nothing special back then – just the way they preserved the meat to prevent it from rotting.

And of course they also preserved fruits and vegetables – like lemons. And we are surrounded by lemons!

The most local ‘item’ in our life here in Graça is lemons. They are growing right outside our kitchen. 

Combine them with the – maybe – most common Portuguese gastronomy item: Salt and you have the two ingredients for one of the best ‘pickles’ in the world. Salt Preserved Lemons.

Made the right way you can keep them forever and turn plain simple dishes into exotic North African or Middle Eastern dishes in no time: Take a slice of your salted lemon, remove the pulp,  fine chop the peel and add it to your pasta, omelet, mix it in your rice or couscous, use it for a Bloody Mary…

There are NO reasons for not making your own Salt Preserved Lemons

This beautiful lemon tree just outside Lemon Tree Lounge (hence the name). has cure my isolation depression. Yesterday I decided to take advantage of the situation and use the fruits for recipes I rarely make. The first one is salt preserved Lemons which I remember from our travels in Morocco. Perfect for almost everything. If you don't have a lemon tree you can buy them almost everywhere. And they are cheap
They should be small, and with thick rinds:
rub them with a piece of flannel;
then slit them half down in four quarters, but not through to the pulp;
fill the slits with salt hard pressed in, set them upright in a pan for four or five days, until the salt melts;
turn them thrice a day in their own liquor, until tender;
make enough pickle to cover them, of rape-vinegar, the brine of the lemons, Jamaica pepper, and ginger;
boil and skim it;
when cold, put it to the lemons, with two ounces of mustard-seed, and two cloves of garlic to six lemons.

When the lemons are used, the pickle will be useful in fish or other sauces.
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By A Lady, 1745-1828 A new system of domestic cookery (p 195)

The recipe

If you live in Lisbon you don’t have to buy your own house with a garden with lemon trees. 

Most likely you have friends, family, colleagues or neighbors that don’t know what to do with their lemons. If not you can buy them around the corner of from one of the many vans at the round-a-bouts in the outskirts of Lisbon that as selling their own seasonal products. Alternatively buy them where you buy your vegetables. BUT they must be 100% organic!!! Its the peal you eat!!!  

The salt is ridiculously cheap everywhere – just much better in Portugal compared to most other countries. I get it for free from good friends in Alcácer do Sal who have access to mountains of salt from the many local salines. 

That’s all you need 🙂

At Tings Lisbon we preserve the lemons from the garden - here is the recipe.
All you need is salt, lemons, a jar, a sharp knife, a cutting board a pestle, a bowl and beautiful settings.
At Tings Lisbon we preserve the lemons from the garden - of course our lemons are organic
Organic lemons only! Preserve the beautiful ones and make juice of the others.
At Tings Lisbon we preserve the lemons from the garden - they are organic, but still we wash them
Clean the lemons thoroughly.
At Tings Lisbon we preserve the lemons from the garden - here is the recipe. We use 3 big Jars - clean of course
Wash the jars well in warm soapy water then rinse thoroughly under running water.
At Tings Lisbon we preserve the lemons from the garden - here is the recipe. First you cut them
Cut each lemon length ways twice - so you get 4 quarters.
At Tings Lisbon we preserve the lemons from the garden - here is the recipe. Rub the lemons with sea salt
Take 1/2 spoon of salt and spread inside the lemons.
At Tings Lisbon we preserve the lemons from the garden - here is the recipe. Place the salted lemons in the jar
Tightly pack the lemons into the sterilized jars, packing the salt around them generously as you build up the layers. Poke the herbs and spices, if using, around the lemons.
Press the lemons to get room for as meny as possible
Press the lemons down well with your pestle and finish with a final layer of salt. For decoration you could add peppercorns, herbs etc.
At Tings Lisbon we preserve the lemons from the garden - here is the recipe. When the Jar is full - cluose and put aside
Leave the jar in a cool dark place for at least three months before using. Turn it every day.
At Tings Lisbon we preserve the lemons from the garden - here is the recipe. Check the daily for some weeks - add salt if necessary
If needed add more salt (there should always be a layer of salt in the bottom of the jar)
At Tings Lisbon we preserve the lemons from the garden - here is the recipe. Add extra lemon juice if necessary
If needed add more lemon juice.
At Tings Lisbon we preserve the lemons from the garden - here is the recipe. When you cant add neither more salt nor jiice leave them for 2-3 months
To get rid of our mint that grows like weed we use it as much as possible. So we make also make a mint version of our preserved lemons.
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Preserving my own lemons was a perfect way to combine the practicalities of visiting friends, buying salt and have a swim at the best beach around Lisbon…

And even better. Preserved Lemons are not only local and good for the environment! They are very easy to make and every body can make them. You neither need machines, experience nor skills. Just the little time it takes…

Tings Lounge in Lisbon is not opened yet. But hopefully it wont be long before be fore we do.

Until then you can play around with your own lemons.

Enjoy

Thomas


GraçaRecipesTings Recipes

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Thomas Tingstrup

Blogger, Traveller and Food, Music & Literature lover. Founding partner of Tings Lisbon.

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