Lemons in olive oil with cumin twist!

Here’s something I made a while ago: a way to preserve lemon. Basically it’s just a way to give a bit of extra taste to olive oil and to make yourself delicious lemons for on fish or the likes. One thing I’d advice anyone who uses olive oil a lot is to give it an extra taste. With all the herbs we have in the garden, we tend to just throw a few in the olive oil bottle – or any cute jars to put them in. But we’ve also added a lot of garlic, or little peppers work too. Anything that can give it a bit of extra flavour! Normally you leave it for a few days to a week before it’s fully absorbed the flavours, but we’ve used it the next day as well. Works for us.
Now back to the lemons!I think I found the recipe on a site for Dille & Kamille (such a pretty shop!). I’ve made it for my mom in the hope to make her happy, but apparently it looked like I only wanted this for myself. There goes your good intentions! We’ve had it once on fish and it was delicious! And I have to admit I hate fish! Never add too much though, at some point I was eating lemon with fish, which can make your face look really odd...



Ingredients:
2-3 lemons
200 grams coarse/rough sea salt
3-5 spoons cumin seeds
olive oil

1. Cut the lemons in thin slices. Take a bowl or oven tray and cover the bottom with salt, then cover the salt with lemons, to cover those with more salt and then more lemons and even more salt. Basically you’re making sure all the lemon is covered in salt.
2. Leave the lemons to soak up the salt and the salt to soak up lemon for about a day. After a day brush the salt off the lemons. (You can wash them as well.)
3. Dry the lemons with kitchen towel and leave them a few hours to dry some more.
4. Take a pretty glass jar and sprinkle some cumin seeds on the bottom, then add a layer of lemons. Sprinkle the lemons with more cumin seeds and keep stacking layers of lemon and cumin (like with the salt before).
5. Then poor over the olive oil till everything is soaked and drowning and close the lid. Leave it for about a week or two before using it.



A little note on the washing and drying of the lemons: make sure the lemons are not wet when you add the water. Water and olive oil don’t mix, and this can have a pretty nasty effect. I have not completely understood the purpose of the salt. Perhaps it’s just to soak up most of the lemon juice, instead of giving the lemon extra taste. Who knows?
Well, hopefully you can enjoy it! Especially if you like fish, you should try this! Until next time!

Late note: The lemon taste of the oil get's really strong after a while, which actually makes it really nice as well. Also, I've been ordered to make more!