The design expert shares his friend’s recipe for the perfect salty preserved garnish.
For Dung Ngo, no distance is too great to find the perfect bite. The Vietnamese-born, New York-based publishing veteran , has sampled the cuisine of Milan, Mexico, and Tokyo, among many others, but nothing beats the taste of Atelier September’s salted preserved lemons. Whenever Ngo finds himself in Copenhagen, he makes sure to stop by his friend’s—the talented chef and restaurateur Frederik Bille Brahe—vegetarian restaurant. “Although Copenhagen does not lack good food these days, what Frederik does in all his restaurants is something special,” says Ngo. This salty preserved lemons recipe can be used in stews, salads, sauces, and even, as Ngo recommends, stirred into an iced cold soda with sugar.
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons salt
- 4 ½ cups of water
- 2 pounds or 12 lemons
Instructions
- Add salt and water to a pot and bring it to a boil. Set the pot aside and let it cool down.
- Wash the lemons in lukewarm water, making sure they are super clean. Give them a good scrub.
- Score the lemons with a knife from the bottom up.
- Push the lemons into a sanitized preserving jar. Use jars that can hold up to 1.5 liters.
- Pour the cool salt brine over the lemons, lay a piece of parchment paper on the top, and close the jar.
- Store the lemons at room temperature for at least 6 weeks.
- Can be used in stews, salads, sauces, ¼, or—as I do—in an iced cold soda with sugar, something I grew up with as a Vietnamese.