Winter is coming... actually it's here.

The cold has well and truly set in and that makes for perfect slow cooking days, Part of my love of all things Moroccan is the food which it's essential when married to a Moroccan. Winter in Melbourne also means our trees are bountiful with lemons and lemons are an essential ingredient in all savoury Moroccan cooking - Preserved Lemons are the key to taking your dish from good to amazing. They're really easy to do at home and can be kept for years. You can use them in slow cooking, salads or in a tajine, all you have to remember is to rinse them well and don't add any extra salt until the end of the cooking time.

They're really easy to make yourself, so if you have copious amounts of lemons give these ago, They'll last for at least a year and would also make lovely homemade Christmas gifts.

What you need:

Large sterilised glass jars.

Lemons

Salt

Water

Optional - peppercorns and bay leaves.

What to do:

Make sure your glass jars are spotlessly clean and sterilised. To do this you need to wash them in warm soapy water, rinse well and then either put into a hot oven for 20 mins or put through the dishwasher.

Wash the lemons and cut into quarters without cutting all the way through the end, so they remain in one piece.

Then sprinkle a little salt into the centre of each lemon and pack them tightly into your clean jars. Fill with more salt and peppercorns an a bay leaf, then fill the jar with water making sure they're completely submersed in the water.

Place the sealed jars in a dark cupboard for at least a month. The lemons will be slightly soft when they're ready, the longer you leave them, the greater the flavour.

Occasionally a mould or jelly like substance develops on the lemons, you can remove this and use the lemons without any problem unless the lemon is really squishy.