Terry Hope Romero

Preserved Lemons, two ways
Makes about a pound of preserved lemons, good for many recipes

I’m a fan of food writer Diane Rossen Worthington’s method for preserving lemons for the impatient foodie: Freezing lemons helps soften the cell walls of the rind, not unlike long process of preserving does. Out of the freezer the yellow color deepens and the rind has absorbed the salt, making them ready to add to most any dish for that special salty sour pinch. These lemons are ready to use after their deep freezing but benefit from additional rest.

12 hour freezer lemons

lb. small, thin-skinned organic lemons (about 6-7 lemons)
½ cup lemon juice
Kosher salt, about 1/2 cup

Firmly roll each lemon a few times on a hard surface; remove any tough stem nubs from ends. Use a sharp knife to slice each lemon into quarters but stop about ½ inch from the end; you’ll want the quarters to remain connected on the bottom. Stuff as much salt into the center of each lemon as possible and rub it into the cut areas, making sure to completely coat the lemons with salt. Place lemons, any remaining salt, lemon juice, cloves and bay leaf into a 1 gallon plastic zip top bag. Press out all the air from the bag and seal; if desired wrap in another bag to prevent any leaking. Give lemons a few good squeezes and freeze for 12 hours.

When ready to use a lemon, remove from the freezer and let thaw. To speed the process place securely zipped bag in a bowl of hot water. To use a lemon gently rinse with water and remove the seeds and most of the pulp. The softened, preserved rind is the part that’s used.

30 day lemons

A traditional recipe for preserved lemons done the slowest of slow foods way possible. The actual number of lemons is more of a guideline: first find yourself a large wide mouth jar (1 liter is my favorite size) then estimate how many small lemons can be packed inside.

1 lb. small, thin-skinned organic lemons (about 6-7 lemons)
½ cup lemon juice
2 bay leaves
Kosher salt, about 3/4 cup

Prepare and salt lemons as directed for freezer lemons, except pack lemons firmly into a clean wide mouth jar and pour lemon juice over lemons. Twist the lid firm on and leave in a cool, dark place for 2 weeks, occasionally turning the jar to re-distribute the juices. After 2 weeks place in the fridge and continue as directed for another 2 weeks, or until lemon rinds are darkened and relatively tender.

To use a preserved lemon, tear off a section and brush away the salt. Remove the pulp and seeds; I like to squeeze the pulp once more and return the juices to rest of the lemons. Discard the pulp (it’s tough and not so flavorful), and mince the softened rind and finely as possible for use in recipes.

Recipe Index

Roasted Chile Pepper Harissa
Makes about 1 cup of hot sauce paste

Harissa can be an obsession; this Lebanese inspired hot sauce is made with fresh red chiles and goes great with everything, including most any cuisine in this book. Essential for any grain dish like Pistachio Date Quinoa or Pumpkin Kibbe Casserole.

½ pound fresh hot red chile peppers
2 teaspoons fennel seeds
1 ½ teaspoons coriander seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons chopped garlic
¼ teaspoon sea salt

1. Over a gas burner roast chiles until more than half of the skin is charred and blistered. An easy way to do this is to place chiles on a metal burner diffuser and turn chiles occasionally with long handled metal tongs. When chiles are done roasting place in a bowl or glass container and cover tightly immediately. Let chiles cool for 10 minutes. Meanwhile in a small pan roast the fennel coriander, and cumin seeds and finely grind in a spice grinder.

2. When chiles are cool enough to handle remove the charred skin and discard the stem end. If desired remove some of the seeds to adjust the heat of the final sauce. Puree chiles with ground spices, tomato paste, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic and salt until smooth. Serve immediately or store in a tightly covered container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

Mock Nuoc Cham dipping sauce

Makes about 1 cup of sauce

That sweet and sour heavenly sauce that loves to be doused over Viet cuisine. This recipe makes a little more that the usual recipe, because I love it so much. I prefer to keep this free of soy sauce for a lighter colored sauce.

½ cup lime juice

¼ cup water

6 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons finely minced red hot chile

4 teaspoons finely chopped garlic

1 ½ teaspoons sea salt

3 tablespoons finely shredded carrot

Sprinkle of sesame seeds

Optional: a few shredded mint leaves

1. Mix lime juice, water, sugar, minced chile pepper, garlic and sea salt in a small saucepan and bring to a rolling boil over medium heat.

2. Reduce heat, stir, and simmer for 10-12 minutes until liquid has thickened to the consistency of a thin syrup. Remove from heat and stir in sesame seeds. Let cool to room temperature and stir in shredded carrot before serving.

Optional: I like the light color of mock nuoc, but if you prefer a fermented salty flavor similar to fish sauce and don’t mind a darker color use 4 teaspoons of light Chinese style soy sauce in place of salt.

Grilled Seitan Noodle Salad (Seitan bo bun)

Serves 4

Grilled hot seitan, warm chewy rice noodles, crunchy peanuts and vegetables make for an irrestistable “salad” of Vietnamese character. I love this stuff; there are a few steps but much of it can be prepared in advance over the course of a few days, and grilled seitan keeps well and it’s worth making a double batch once the cast iron pan has been fired up.

As with any recipe with a lot of ingredients, read everything first and follow the steps. For best results make the seitan a day in advance to achieve the best texture. Almost all of the work in prepping the salad vegetables; the seitan grills in minutes and the sauce can be made a week in advance.

One recipe Five Spice Seitan, cooked and cooled

Marinade:

4 tablespoons sugar

5 tablespoons water

4 teaspoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons finely minced shallots

4 cloves garlic, grated on a microplane grater

1 stalk lemongrass, finely chopped

2 scallions, trimmed and finely sliced

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Noodles and salad:

½ lb rice vermicelli noodles

1 cup finely chopped roasted peanuts

4-6 cups of assorted vegetable and greens including:

Mung bean sprouts

Shredded leafy green lettuce such as Romaine or Boston

Chopped cucumber, remove seeds first

Shredded carrot, peel first

Thinly sliced Scallions, trim ends

Cilantro leaves torn into bite-sized pieces

Thai basil leaves

Fresh mint leaves

One recipe Mock Nuoc Cham sauce

1. Marinate the seitan first; in a large glass container with a fork or wire whisk combine all of the marinade ingredients. Slice cold seitan on a diagonal into thin slices about 1/4 inch wide. Layer in the marinade and cover the container tightly. Marinate 1 hour or even better, overnight, occasionally stirring or shaking the container.

2. In a large 4 quart pot bring 8 cups of water to a rolling boil. Slide in noodles and stir for one minute, then turn off heat and let noodles soak for 20 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water and store in a colander until ready to serve. Noodles can also be made a day in advance and stored in the fridge in a tightly covered container; just rinse with cold water and drain before using. Chop and have ready to use the salad toppings and chopped roasted peanuts before grilling the seitan.

3. Heat a cast iron pan or cast iron grill pan over high heat and brush generously with peanut oil. When good and hot, add a layer of marinated seitan, taking care not to overlap the pieces. Brush with a little of the marinade during grilling and use long handled metal tongs to flip the seitan over after about 2 minutes. Grill on the other side for another 2-3 minutes until edges are golden and seitan looks juicy; do not overcook or seitan will dry out. Move to a dish placed on the stove to keep warm and cook remaining seitan.

4. To serve, heap noodles into four serving bowls. Top with grilled seitan, bean sprouts, shredded lettuce, cucumber, carrot, scallions, cilantro and mint. Sprinkle generously with ground peanuts. Serve immediately and pass around the Mock Nuoc!

VEW Recipe Index

Five Spice Seitan

Makes 4 portions of seitan, enough to serve 4-6 in recipes

I love steamed seitan; it’s fast, easy, relatively mess-free and won’t take over your kitchen in the preparing of. There will be a collection of international seitans that can be worked into many of the recipes of this book; this Five Spice Seitan is my favorite all purpose Asian seitan that’s great in Chinese, Korean and South East Asian cuisine. It’s very firm and chewy and works best when thinly sliced, marinated and then pan sauteed or grilled.

1 1/2 cups cold vegetable broth

2 cloves garlic, peeled, pressed or grated with a microplane grater

4 Tablespoons mild soy sauce

2 Tablespoons peanut or grapeseed oil

1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger

1 3/4 cups vital wheat gluten flour (one 10 ounce package)

2 tablespoons nutritional yeast

1/4 cup garbanzo (chickpea) flour

2 teaspoons Chinese five spice powder

1 teaspoon ground cardamom

1. In a one quart measuring cup or bowl whisk together vegetable broth, grated garlic, soy sauce, peanut oil, and grated ginger. In a separate bowl stir together vital wheat gluten, nutritional yeast, garbanzo flour, and five spice powder. Form a well in the center and pour in the broth mixture.

2. Use a wooden spoon or rubber spatula to stir the ingredients together; a moist dough will form rapidly as the flour absorbs the broth. When all of the broth as been absorbed use both hand to fold the dough in a kneading motion for 5 minutes. For best texture results try to knead the dough in one direction, using a folding and pressing motion with your palms pushing the dough in the same direction the entire time. Let the dough rest for 10 minutes, then divide into four equal pieces.

3. Set up your steamer and tear off four pieces of foil about 12 inches wide. Shape a piece of dough into an oval shape on the foil and bring two edges together and fold over the top by 1/2 inch to form a small tent over the dough. Fold the remaining opposite sides down flat to seal the package. Place in the steamer and steam for 30 minutes over medium-high heat, checking occasionally to make sure the water doesn’t completely evaporate.

4. Remove seitan and let cool on the kitchen counter for 30 minutes before using, or store in a tightly covered container in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Variation

For Thai and Vietnamese cuisine, reduce 5 spice powder to 1/2 teaspoon. Add 1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper.