North African Style Pickled Lemon And Lime

Total Time: 24 hrs Preparation Time: 24 hrs

Ingredients

• 6 lemons (or a mixture of 3 of each) or 6 limes (or a mixture of 3 of each)
• 1 ounce salt (25g)
• 1 tablespoon paprika (15ml)
• 2 tablespoons caster sugar (30ml)
• 5 tablespoons sunflower oil (75ml)
• 1/2 pint distilled pickling malt vinegar (300ml)

Recipe

• 1 this recipe needs to be started the day before.
• 2 scrub and finely slice the lemons and/or limes.
• 3 layer the fruits and salt in a non-metallic colander or sieve. cover with a non-metallic cover (not touching the fruits) and leave in a cool place for 24hrs.
• 4 before preparing the pickle wash and sterilize the jars. do this by filling them with boiling water and putting the lids in a separate small bowl of boiling water. pour away the water just before filling each jar and once the jar is full immediately take the lid from the bowl and without touching the inside screw it onto the jar. although the contents for the jars in this recipe are not heated the hot lid should contract and form a seal: if re-using a jam jar with a ‘pop in/out indicator’ on top this may well contract. however, the seal cannot be guaranteed so it is best to make occasional small quantities rather than one large batch.
• 5 do not rinse the fruit. layer in sterilized jars sprinkling paprika between the layers.
• 6 mix together the sugar, oil and vinegar. pour this mixture (unheated) over the fruit. seal the jars. (see note above at 3.).
• 7 the jar should regularly be gently shaken to mix together the oil and vinegar. allow to mature for a few days and ideally up to three weeks before using. store in a refrigerator once open.