Flashback Friday - Miguel's Cocina y Cantina

This post originally appeared on Minxeats.com on September 28, 2011.

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MinxEats is a proud supporter of Dining Out for Life and we did our part this year by dining out at Miguel's Cocina y Cantina, which offered 50% of their take to Movable Feast. We are big fans of Mexican food and Mr Minx and I looked forward to sampling chef owner Michael Marx's authentic fare from the moment I made our reservation.

Miguel's is in the hideous new Silo Point complex and is a bit hard to find, so thank goodness for the well placed signs and arrows. Once inside, we were taken to a tiny table across from a large bank of windows in the bar area. It was dark and gloomy outside, so unfortunately, it was rather dark and gloomy inside as well. And a bit noisy, despite the few other diners partaking of our normally early dinner hour.

While perusing the menu, we nibbled on a basket of freshly fried corn tortilla chips accompanied by two salsas - a tangy bright tomatillo and an almost creamy roasted tomato. I had a bad day and was in the mood for a margarita - the Miguel's, with Espolon Silver, Gran Gala, Miguel’s mix (simple syrup + fresh lime juice) really hit the spot. Mr Minx tried the Agave wheat beer, which was light and mild.

Chips and salsas and the Miguel margarita

While my mood was gloomy, the food definitely was not. Because the prices at Miguel's are reasonable and we wanted Movable Feast to get as much money as possible, we ordered three appetizers - the guacamole for two, the shrimp corn cakes, and the birria Guadalajara. The guac and corn cakes came out first, competing for space on the table with the basket of chips and salsa, and our beverages. The guac was nice and chunky, had a nice kick of heat, but was perhaps a tad too acidy for me. It came with fried flour tortillas, which were flaky and brittle and didn't work as well with the thick dip as corn chips did. The corn cakes were terrific - three delicate and fluffy discs topped with a scattering of very flavorful shrimp, some salsa fresca, and a drizzle of crema.

Shrimp with corn cakes

Guacamole for two

Our third appetizer, the birria, arrived with our entrées - enchiladas de pollo, and carne asada. My two large enchiladas were filled with pulled chicken bound together by a bit of cheese and were topped with a lake of molé negro. The molé was surprisingly mild and sweet, redolent of Mexican chocolate. Under the enchiladas were black beans and an arroz verde made with a pesto-like mixture of cilantro, basil, and pumpkin seeds that gave it a lovely nutty flavor.

Enchiladas de pollo

The carne asada - which also came with arroz verde and a pile of sliced zucchini cooked with achiote and a good dose of cinnamon (weird, but it really worked well) - was very tender and full of flavor. The molé Amarillo reminded me a bit of New Mexican red chile sauce, but with a brighter flavor. The components of this dish really worked well together - it was meaty, creamy, nutty, spicy, and tangy, all at the same time.

Carne asada

The birria had yet another, completely different, sauce, this one primarily tasting of dried chiles and cumin. Combined with the very tender, very lamb-y lamb, it seemed almost like an Indian dish. It was topped with a garnish of toasted almonds, which lent a pleasant crunch to the dish.

Birria Guadalajara

Finally, we ended up with two desserts, the churros, and a chocolate bread pudding, both accompanied by Taharka Brothers vanilla ice cream and a puddle of cajeta (goat's milk caramel - if you haven't tried this stuff, go find some NOW!). The bread pudding had a rather loose consistency, and was very moist and fudgey, but not overly chocolaty. The churros were even better, with super crisp, cinnamon sugar-dusted outsides and an almost creamy middle. Both were large enough to share.

Chocolate bread pudding

Churros

We were pretty happy with the goodies we sampled from the limited menu offered for Dining Out for Life and look forward to a return visit to taste some flautas, carnitas, and maybe a taco or two.

Miguel's Cocina y Cantina
1200 Steuart St
Baltimore, MD 21230
www.miguelsbaltimore.com
(443) 438-3139

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Flashback Friday - Crab cakes

This post originally appeared on Minxeats.com on July 14, 2014.

Sometimes dinner time is like an episode of Chopped. I look in the fridge and find a celery root, and on the counter are a pint of grape tomatoes and two ripe avocados. There's meat from 7 nicely-sized crabs as well, a leftover bonus after the crab feast we had the day before. Now how do I incorporate these things into something delicious?

I suppose it wasn't all that difficult. Not like I also had to use Chopped-style speed bumps like pop rocks or canned peaches (although we do have those in the house). I briefly thought I could stuff the avocado with crab salad, but I really felt like crab cakes. (:::feeling self::: yup - definitely crab cakes.) And don't get me wrong, I love Old Bay, but I think I might like Phillip's seafood seasoning even more. It's less, um, distinctive than Old Bay, and therefore allows the sweet flavor of crab to shine through while still tasting like seafood seasoning.

The celery root became celeri remoulade. Here's the recipe I usually use, adapted from Joel Robuchon. Because classic French is how I roll. (So untrue.) Unfortunately, I didn't have cornichons on hand, but since I was using the remoulade as a substitute for cole slaw to go with crab cakes, I squirted in a little Dijon. Hey, it worked great. Didn't even miss the wee sour pickles. The avocado was mashed with a bit of lemon juice and salt, and the tomatoes were quartered and lightly pickled in a bit of rice wine vinegar, green Tabasco, and pinches of sugar and salt.

The combination was nice. The avocado was rich, the tomatoes bright, the crab cakes luscious, and the celeri remoulade added a lot of texture. Would have made a nice sandwich, too.

Crab Cakes, a la Phillips, by way of theminx

1 teaspoon Phillips Seafood Seasoning
1 egg
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/8 teaspoon dry mustard
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
½ teaspoon lemon juice
1 ½ teaspoon prepared mustard
12 ounces blue crab meat, picked over for shells
Panko breadcrumbs
Oil

Combine all ingredients except crab and panko in a large bowl. Fold in the crab meat, then add enough panko to hold the mixture together (1/4 cup or so). Refrigerate the mixture for at least one hour to firm it up.

When ready to cook, form the mixture into 4 cakes. Heat 2-3 tablespoons of oil (I used extra virgin olive oil) in a large frying pan over high heat. Gently add the cakes and turn the temperature down a bit. Cook on both sides until nicely golden brown.

Serve with your favorite accompaniments.



Posted on Minxeats.com.

La Food Marketa

I'm a big fan of Hampden's The Food Market. Chef Chad Gauss' food is inventive, and many of the options are of the small plates variety. I find that in so many restaurants I am more attracted to the appetizers than to the entrees, so this is right up my culinary alley. When we heard Chef Gauss was opening up a Mexican-influenced eatery called La Food Marketa in the culinary wasteland known as Baltimore County, we got excited. And even more excited when we were invited to a media dinner to sample a nice portion of executive chef John Bedingfield's menu.

We started off with adult beverages. There's wine and beer, specialty cocktails, fancy margaritas, and several versions on a sangria theme. I went for the grapefruit sangria (sparkling wine, grapefruit, honey dew, watermelon) while Mr Minx opted for the Spanish sangria (tempranillo, orange juice, pineapple, orange, pear), both of which made us happy.

We then received a parade of small plates from the "chiquita" and "pequeno" sections of the menu.

There was the "Bandito Box," which included salsa, queso, salsa verde, pico de gallo, and chips, and the Fish Taco Dip (smoked trout, dill sour cream, guac, pico, chili spices)...

...a duck confit stuffed pupusa (spicy cabbage, radish, cilantro)...

...charred octopus (churasco onions, chorizo chimichurri)...

...something called the "Sunken Crab Burrito," (melted cheese, mexican shrimp gravy)...

...and Street Corn (cotijo cheese, taco spice, tortilla, chili lime mayo). We enjoyed them all. The fish taco dip was a riff on a fish taco, of course, but also of that pot luck favorite, Seven Layer Dip. I wished we were sitting closer to the bowl of queso, but maybe distance was a good thing, otherwise I'd have eaten it all with the thin and crispy tortilla chips. Loved the charred flavor of the octopus, and that the pupusa was filled with a bounty of shredded duck. I didn't find the burrito to be particularly crabby, but all that soft tortilla and cheese action was beguiling.

We could have filled up on apps, but we got entrees, too. Mr Minx chose the duck breast with roasted mushrooms, asparagus, yucca spaetzle, and acai demi. He raved about the spaetzle, but the duck was a bit on the too rare side. Still, a very tasty combination of flavors on that plate.

I had the scallops, which were accompanied by cumin-basted carrots, avocado, pecans, "smooth potatoes" and something akin to cornbread that the menu called "sweet corn tamalitos." While I felt the potatoes and cornbread were one starch too many, I couldn't fault the sweet and tender scallops. The carrots made me happy as well. And avocado. And pecans. Yum.

Then there was dessert - chocolate tres leches cake, a pina colada bread pudding, sorbetto with torched marshmallow, and something called a "crazy banana milkshake" that involved cornflakes and pop corn. We had eaten so much other stuff we couldn't afford more than a token bite of the sweet stuff. I did sneak several tastes of the blood orange sorbetto though, and enjoyed it very much.

La Food Marketa has only been open for a month or so, but from our first visit, we can see it's definitely headed in the right direction. Here's to many happy future excursions to a fine new addition to Baltimore County's small collection of locally-owned, non-chain, restaurants.

La Food Marketa
Quarry Lake at Greenspring
2620 Quarry Lake Drive
Baltimore, MD 21209
410.415.0606



Posted on Minxeats.com.

Dining in NY - Empellon Taqueria

I am kinda fascinated that a well-regarded pastry chef like Alex Stupak can suddenly decide to dump the sugarwork and start making tacos and moles. Apparently, working with fondant wasn't his true calling; in a recent tv interview, he said he was forced into the job. Today, he's got three restaurants in NY, all in a Mexican vein: Empellon Cucina, Empellon El Pastor, and the one we visited, Empellon Taqueria.  I say a Mexican "vein," because while the menu is full of tacos and such, Stupak isn't religious about authenticity. That's fine, because what he creates with the building blocks of Mexican cuisine is pretty tasty.

The menu states, in all caps, "Empellon strongly discourages the use of cell phones, unless you're posting food porn on Instagram. #Empellon." It would be much easier to post food porn had the restaurant not dimmed the lights several times during the course of our meal. So, sorry for the crappy pics. By the time we received the queso fundido, it was pretty damn dark in the restaurant.

The three of us (Mr Minx, our friend David, and I) started out with a couple of cocktails, a ¿Porque No? and a Spicy Cucumber margarita. Both are made with blanco tequila and a hint of spice; one flavored with pineapple and the other drink with cucumber. I think I preferred the spicy cucumber, and I don't ordinarily enjoy cucumber in a cocktail. Despite the jalapeno tincture, the cocktail was more herbal and refreshing than spicy.

¿Porque no? with Cimarron Blanco tequila, pineapple, cilantrom serrano tincture.  Mr Minx had the spicy cucumber margarita, made with Pueblo Viejo Blanco tequila, fresh cucumber, jalapeno tincture, and chile salt.

With our cocktails we enjoyed a bowl of chunky guacamole and chips, accompanied by two of the restaurants seven salsas--a creamy smoked cashew and a spicy puree featuring chiles de arbol. Between the three items, we had a nice palette of spicy and creamy flavors to ease our palates into the meal.

Guacamole with two salsas, smoked cashew (front) and arbol (back left)

I personally wanted to go vegetarian that night, so we started with an order of celery root with toasted peanuts. Garnished with celery leaves, the dish was a south of the border interpretation of the celery sticks stuffed with peanut butter most of us enjoyed as children. The celery root was lightly cooked to tenderness and topped with something the menu called salsa macha. Originating from Veracruz, salsa macha is commonly a thick oily sauce made with chiles and peanuts (or other nuts) vaguely reminiscent of the chile oil one finds at Chinese dim sum restaurants. The sauce in this dish seemed closer to a Thai peanut sauce, as it was lighter in color, and not particularly hot. Nevertheless, the components together made for a tasty dish.

Celery root, toasted peanuts, salsa macha

We tried three types of tacos between us. I went for the Brussels sprouts version, served with an almond sauce and toasted almonds. The small sprouts were decidedly meaty and a surprisingly good filling for a corn tortilla.

Brussels sprouts, toasted almonds, almendrado

David ordered the chicken tacos, which he said were excellent.

Chicken, black kale, crema, salsa verde 

And Mr Minx got the short rib pastrami tacos. As I said earlier, Stupak isn't all that concerned with authenticity, and if it works as well and is delicious as this, who needs it?  These tacos were like a classic pastrami sandwiches, mustard and all, but in taco form. Which leads me to wonder - what can't be served as a taco?

Shortrib pastrami, pickled cabbage, mustard seed salsa

Still feeling a bit peckish, we ordered the queso fundido topped with black trumpet mushrooms and guaje seeds (guaje is an inedible pod that produces seeds not unlike pumpkin seeds). The rich chihuahua cheese and delicate mushrooms worked equally well scooped onto tortilla chips as on the accompanying flour tortillas.

While I wasn't so crazy about the continually dimming lights and the din that escalated as more young and pretty patrons arrived, I was glad to have had the opportunity to taste Alex Stupak's Mexican stylings. Everything we tried was delicious, and I look forward to checking them out again.

Empellon Taqueria
230 West 4th Street
New York, NY 10014
(212) 367-0999



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Barcocina

Mr Minx and I visited Barcocina for the first time last summer. We were in the neighborhood, didn't have dinner plans, and had heard good things. Most importantly, after threatening skies most of the afternoon, the evening had turned breezy and pleasant, making the idea of outdoor dining very appealing. Lucky for us, in warmer months, Barcocina is open to the elements on three sides, with both indoor and outdoor seating. If you want sun, there are sunnier spots, and if you prefer shade, there's plenty of that as well.

On this first trip, which was early on in the restaurant's existence, we tried one each of Barcocina's selection of various tacos, guacamoles, and ceviches, plus a side of Brussels sprouts.

Crispy Brussels sprouts with red mole and Cotija

The sprouts, which were tossed with red mole and topped with a smattering of cotija cheese, were excellent. Who would think that cinnamon would work so well with the tiny cabbages?

Oaxaca style guacamole

The guacamole we tried was a fairly simple and traditional affair of avocado seasoned with shallot, lemon, lime, jalapeno, and cilantro.  It came with a generous basket of not-too-salty tortilla chips. Also successful were the easy-to-eat tuna sashimi tacos, cool raw tuna swaddled in pillowy soft flour tortillas.

Sashimi tuna tacos

A scallop ceviche, on the other hand, was a bust. What we received was one large scallop, sliced horizontally, sauced with citrus, vanilla, and habanero, with a smattering of red quinoa on the bottom of the dish and an overly generous amount of ancho chile popcorn on top. It sounded good, but the slimy slices were awkward to eat, and they were not as fresh as they could have been. (The restaurant seems to have gotten rid of the ceviche altogether, apart from one version on the appetizer list.)

Our second visit came about 9 months later, during the brief Baltimore City curfew period. Two media dinners planned that week had been canceled, but we ventured to Fells Point anyway to support the businesses that were hurt by the early shutdown. We had planned to revisit Barcocina at some point, and this seemed like a good time to do so.

Smoky Margarita and Texas Pink

We started out with two smoky mezcal-based cocktails, a margarita and a Texas pink, topped with pineapple foam. They were both refreshingly un-sweet, but the latter had far more ice than actual cocktail going on. With drink prices over $10 a pop these days, I want a little more booze, please.

Barcocina Dip

Like the first time we dined at Barcocina, the food was hit or near-miss. The Barcocina dip, listed on the menu as "an Oaxaca queso fundido" had a curious fluffy texture studded with odd rubbery and flavorless bits of chorizo, topped with a whole poached egg (not fried, as the menu indicated). While the yolk was runny, the white was very firm and required a knife to cut and distribute through the dip. The accompanying tortilla chips were weeny, as if made from taco-sized tortillas, and not big enough to scoop up a decent amount of dip.

Duck enchiladas

Better were the duck enchiladas topped with red mole and a fried egg and served on a bed of black beans. Listed in the appetizer section, the three generously stuffed enchiladas would make a perfect entree as well.

Buffalo chicken tacos

We tried one of the seven varieties of tacos offered, the Buffalo chicken. Three flour tortillas stuffed to bursting with shredded chicken were topped with shredded green mango & napa cabbage and smoked cheddar, and served with a bowl of salsa de arbol. The flavor wasn't as reminiscent of chicken wings as the name suggested, but they were pretty tasty nonetheless.

Tuna taquitos

Even better were the tuna taquitos, wee small shells of fried malanga, a taro-like starchy tuber, filled with chopped tuna, pickled sweet potato and ginger, and a chili soy sauce. Each two-bite taco had just the right amount of texture and flavor, and were my favorite thing on the table.

We were hungry and tried two sides as well, crispy yucca tots and elotes. Let me just say this: all tots should be made with yucca! (I'm not a fan of the tater variety). These were super crispy on the outside and creamy within, and just fine without the accompanying adobo sauce and citrus crema.

Really?

As for the elotes--Barcocina should be embarrassed. For $6, we got one medium-small ear of corn, cut in half. It apparently had ancho cayenne butter, queso fresco, and lime zest, but in such minuscule amounts as to be ridiculous. Thinking on it, I should probably have asked to have it removed from our check. It made me mad.

So apart from two real bombs (elotes and scallop ceviche) and one almost-flop-yet-still-edible (Barcocina dip), the food at Barcocina is pretty good. Anything with raw tuna in it especially. And Brussels sprouts. And the food is prettily presented, to boot. Service is decent as well, if a bit relaxed. And you can't beat the location--at the foot of Broadway, overlooking the water or Thames Street, depending on which side you sit. The views certainly make up for any deficiencies in food or drink.



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Dining In New York, May 2015, Part 2

My second day in NY was carefully planned; all activities revolved around a 2pm matinee of Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Glee's Darren Criss was playing the lead, and he did a terrific job in what was essentially a one-man show (apart from a backing band).

Before the show, I had lunch at Xi'an Famous Foods, which had just opened a second midtown outpost on 34th Street. I got there early enough to avoid any lines or crowds and was able to spend a few long minutes perusing the menu. I wanted to try everything, especially the spicy and tingly lamb face salad, the spicy cumin lamb burger, and the spicy and sour lamb dumplings. As there was only one of me, I ordered just one dish. The pork "Zha Jiang" hand-ripped noodles were lovely. A simple dish of thick, wide, lightly chewy noodles topped with a spicy mix of ground pork and scallions made for a perfect lunch. The length of the noodles made them heavy and a bit difficult to manipulate with cheap wooden chopsticks, but I soldiered on, polishing off every tasty bite. I washed them down with a cup of cold sweetened chrysanthemum tea and went on my way.

I still had time before the matinee, so hit up Lord & Taylor and Saks for perfume sniffing on my way up 5th Avenue. I didn't smell anything worth paying retail for, which is fine. More money for food.

After the show, I walked over to David Burke Fabrick in the Archer Hotel. Both of my dining spots on this day were chosen because they were in close to places I needed to be: the hotel; the theatre; Penn Station. Fabrick had the added attraction of serving dinner uber early, useful for when one has an early train out of town.

Or, that was the original idea. There was a train accident in Vermont in the morning which delayed my train by several hours. I was panicking during dinner, really wanting to get home before midnight. A conversation with a very nice Amtrak phone rep who helped me book another train scheduled a mere hour after my original eased my mind. This gave me more time to wander about, and I suppose I could have gone somewhere else to eat, but I kept my reservation and ate dinner at the ridiculous hour of 4:30pm.

I wasn't sure at all what to order; I think the menu I had perused online was a bit different than the one I was handed at the restaurant. I ended up with the avocado panna cotta and shrimp tacos, neither of which I wanted, but seemed the best choices at the time.

The avocado dish was a panna cotta in name only. I thought a gelatinized avocado mousse would have been interesting, but it was really just guacamole and salsa layered in a bowl with sour cream and served with a dish of tortilla chips glued together with some melted cheese. It was ok, but definitely not $16 worth of ok.

The "angry" shrimp fajitas continued the unintentional Tex-Mex theme. I suppose they should have been spicy, but the wee shrimp were not at all. I ate several tiny tacos, each with far more tortilla than filling. The chipotle aioli, surprisingly, was the star of the dish. It wasn't bad, just nothing special.

What was special, however, was dessert. I have been Facebook friends with Burke's corporate pastry chef, Zac Young, for years now. (You might remember him from the first season of Top Chef Just Desserts, and from the Food Network's Unique Sweets). Despite not normally going for chocolate desserts because I find them too heavy, I ordered the chocolate hazelnut "handbag," with gianduja mousse, raspberry ganache, and vanilla bean ice cream. The whimsical pink camouflage-patterned creation also included white chocolate filled and coated raspberries, and a bit of coconut brittle, and was by far the most satisfying thing I ate at Fabrick.

On the way to Penn Station, I stopped by Macaron Cafe to pick up half a dozen of the sweet treats. I gotta say these are the best macarons I've ever tried. They're amply sized, with chewy cookies and interesting fillings, from rich ganache to a bitter matcha creme. I'm going to have to make this a regular stop on my trips to NY, although I'll have to pick up some from Ladurée next time too, for comparison.









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Fish Tacos

I don't particularly like fish tacos; I find them to be bland. I've had them in different places, but no matter how many toppings were added to the rather plain fish, they were all meh to me. Then I had them at Grille 620 in Ellicott City. The ones I had there were wrapped in flour tortillas, rather than the usual corn, and I think it made all the difference. Flour tortillas have relatively little flavor, so the elements inside can sing out. Corn tortillas have a little more going for them, and I feel they work better with bolder fillings.

My blog, my opinion. I don't care if flour tortillas aren't traditional. Neither am I. (And if they're good enough for Bobby Flay, they're good enough for me.)

Fish tacos usually involve some sort of white fish, plus a slaw, and a crema. Lots of times there will be pickled onions involved, too, which is my favorite part. Oh, and guacamole. I also added a tomatillo salsa, which is easy peasy to make, and tastes great on just about any other kind of taco you can imagine as well.

Pickled Red Onions

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon superfine sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 red onion

Combine the vinegar, sugar, and salt in a pint jar. Put the lid on and shake vigorously to dissolve sugar and salt. Slice the red onion thinly and place into a colander or sieve. Put a couple cups of water on to boil; when boiled, pour over the red onion in the sieve. Shake all of the water off, then pack onion into the jar. If the vinegar doesn't come up over the onion, add a little more. Seal jar and refrigerate for at least an hour.

Tomatillo Salsa

4-5 tomatillos
2 jalapeno peppers
3 scallions
Handful fresh cilantro
1 small clove garlic
1-2 teaspoons brown sugar
Pinch cumin
Salt, to taste

Remove husks from tomatillos, rinse them and cut into quarters. Stem and deseed the jalapenos (leave some seeds in, if you want more heat). Remove root end from scallions and chop remainder into 1" pieces.

Put tomatillos, jalapenos, scallions, cilantro, and garlic into a blender and puree. Pour into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Stir in the brown sugar, cumin, and salt. Cook about 5 minutes, until mixture darkens. Taste for seasoning, adding more sugar or salt if you think it needs it. It should mostly be tart, but not sour.



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Preserved Lemons

Let me tell you about one of my favorite ingredients. It's something that adds sunshine and happiness to any dish: preserved lemons. Yeah, regular fresh lemons can do much the same thing, but when you preserve a lemon, that is, pack it in salt and allow it to sit for a while, the lemon flavor seems more intense. And you can eat the whole thing. But maybe throw away the seeds.

So what to do with preserved lemons? A traditional North African condiment, found predominately in Moroccan cuisine, the lemons' flavor works beautifully with olives, lamb, chicken, and smoky harissa paste. I chop a bit up and put it in chicken salad, and I've stewed chicken thighs with tomatoes, roasted peppers, olives, and preserved lemons, too. Stir a little into mayo to make a nice topping for a lamb burger. You'll find several uses for preserved lemon in the Minxeats archives, for example in this swiss chard dish, this bean dip, and this chicken and fennel dish.

Preserved lemons even taste good in guacamole.

Making preserved lemons is the easiest thing ever. It just requires a bit of patience. Like six week's worth.

Preserved Lemons

Lemons (organic if you can find them; Meyer lemons are great)
Kosher Salt
Lemon juice
Jar large enough to hold lemons snugly

Cut the lemon nearly in half lengthwise, stopping about a half inch before you reach the other tip. Make another identical cut perpendicular to the first cut, so the lemon is nearly quartered. Holding it over the jar you're going to use, prise the four sections apart and pour kosher salt into the space between them. Close the lemon and place in the jar. Repeat with enough remaining lemons, squashing them as you put them in, that the jar is full and lemons are packed very snugly. Fill the remaining space with lemon juice and a couple spoons-full of salt. Cap the jar and shake it so the juice is evenly distributed.

Refrigerate, shaking every couple of days so any salt and juice that accumulate at the bottom is distributed through the lemons. I find it takes about a month to six weeks for the lemons to soften to the proper texture (they should feel cooked).

To use, cut off a the amount you need and rinse it (or not) before adding to your dish.

Yes, I started this post so long ago, we still had a Christmas-themed tablecloth on.

Preserved Lemon Guacamole

2 ripe avocados
1/8 of a preserved lemon, rinsed lightly and minced
3 scallions, finely chopped

Cut the avocados in half, remove the pit, and scoop the flesh into a bowl. Add the preserved lemon and scallions and mash with a fork until the desired texture. You shouldn't need to add salt, as the lemon is quite salty.

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