Food Stuff

Each January, I find myself with a box or two of Meyer lemons from my dad’s trees, wondering how to use them. Sweet and aromatic, Meyer lemons add a subtle difference to almost any dish in which you’d use regular lemons: a tart salad dressing; hot toddies; or, if you have patience and a tolerance for a sticky kitchen, marmalade. My favorite, though, is to make oil-cured preserved lemons, Moroccan-style: Cut lemons into wedges and cover completely with kosher salt in a shallow dish. Freeze for 24 hours and then refrigerate for a few days. Rinse off the salt, pat the wedges dry, place in jars and cover with olive oil. (Mold will form if the oil doesn’t cover the lemons fully.) In a few weeks, fish out the soft, mellow wedges and chop to dress arugula, top couscous or flavor roast chicken. The sunny taste makes it worth seeking out Meyers, even if you don’t get a lemon delivery of your own.