I really like preserved lemons. They are one thing that is really worthwhile to make at home, because when you get them from the supermarket, they tend to come in tiny precious jars with a few lemon in them for $15. They are really expensive to buy and they are easy and cheap to make yourself. If you want to make them, check out my post to learn how. The large amount of salt means that the lemons will keep indefinitely in the fridge. Lots of recipes call for just the rind of the preserved lemons to be used but I like to use the whole lemons, the insides taste great too.

I like to turn them into a salty, lemony, spicy paste using lots of whole preserved lemons and a few hot peppers. This paste keeps for ages just like preserved lemons will. It's great blended into a vinaigrette or tossed into pasta with lots of garlic. It's also great rubbed all over the skin of a chicken before roasting. The salt in the lemon paste dries out the skin a little and makes it crispy and delicious.

This chicken goes really well with herbed harissa and feta carrot salad or possibly some roast potatoes tossed in a little harissa & olive oil. Yum.

preserved lemon and chili paste:

10 whole preserved lemons
a couple fresh hot chilis, finely chopped
In a food processor, blend the lemons and chilis until a smooth paste forms.

preserved lemon rubbed roast chicken:

preserved lemon and chilli paste
one chicken
black pepper
onions, garlic and lemon halves to roast chicken over

Rub the chicken all over and inside the cavity with a generous amount of lemon paste. Sprinkle on lots of cracked black pepper. Lay the onions, garlic and lemons in a roasting dish and place the chicken on top. Drizzle with a little oil Roast the chicken at 450 degrees for 1-1.5 hrs, depending on your chicken size, until it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees.

Photo credits: Tyrel Hiebert

Summer is for burgers, and burgers are for barbecues and barbecues are for people who have a yard or a balcony or an outdoor space of some kind. I do not, in my current apartment, have any sort of outdoor space and so no barbecue and so not very many burgers. I do make them on the stove top occasionally, but it's not the same as barbecuing, it just doesn't seem quite right. Sometimes I think crazy thoughts like, "Maybe if I open ALL the windows, it would be fine to use a little barbecue inside..." and that kind of thinking is how bad decisions get made. I really need to move to somewhere with a yard so I can barbecue without risking gassing myself.

So I made these chickpea burgers in the oven, and then I reheated them in a grill pan to make them look barbecued so I can pretend I am living a life that involves real barbecuing. The grilling part is optional, you can use them straight out of the oven if you want to. Extras freeze really well and you can thaw them and reheat them in the oven or in a grill pan, or on the barbecue if you are blessed with a yard.

Veggie burgers can be great, they can also be really boring and sad and I feel like the toppings often make or break the veggie burger. They tend to be on the bland side and are therefore excellent vehicles for tasty spreads and crispy greens. I made two spreads for these burgers; a roasted red pepper feta spread (which I make quite a bit to eat on slices of cucumbers and carrots) and mayo with preserved lemons and chilies. The mild nuttiness of chickpeas is an excellent canvass for these bold flavours.

chickpea burgers:

one tin chickpeas
1/4-1/2 cup chickpea flour, and a little extra for dredging
one egg
one shallot or small yellow onion
one clove garlic
1 teaspoon mustard powder
salt and pepper

Blend everything together in a food processor, adjusting the chickpea flour until a very thick paste is formed. Scoop out 1/4 cups of the mixture and coat them in extra chickpea flour. An ice cream scoop with a release mechanism works great for the scooping because the mixture is very sticky. Place the scoops onto a parchment lined cookie sheet and flatten into 4 inch rounds. Bake patties at 350 for 10 minutes, until they are browned on the bottom, flip over and bake for 5-10 more minutes, until set and brown on both sides. If you want to, grill them on a barbecue or grill pan until nice grill marks appear.

red pepper feta spread:

1/2 cup feta, crumbled
1/4 cup cream cheese
3-4 pieces of jarred roasted red pepper
1 clove garlic
lots of fresh ground pepper

Blend everything together in a food processor until it forms a paste.

spicy preserved lemon mayo:

1/4 a preserved lemon and a small fresh red chili, roughly chopped together
1 large or extra large egg (medium eggs or smaller will need two)
1 cup light, neutral oil, almond works well

Immersion blender method: in a pint size mason jar with a wide mouth opening (or similarly shaped container) that fits the immersion blender, place an egg and a cup of oil. Place the immersion blender all the way into the jar and blend, holding the blender still until the mayo becomes very thick. Add the preserved lemon and blend until incorporated.

Food processor method: Put the egg in the food processor and, with the machine running, add oil in a slow stream. Once emulsified, add preserved lemon and chile and blend until incorporated.

assembly:

I put spinach, pea shoots and avocado on these burgers, and lots of feta pepper spread and lemon mayo.

Photo credit: Tyrel Hiebert