Herby, zesty and slightly spicy, this preserved lemon gremolata comes together in just 10 minutes. Spoon it over your grilled fish or meat or toss it into some stir fried veggies to take the flavors up a notch.
Don't have preserved lemon at hand? Try my easy basil gremolata instead, that comes together with just a few pantry staples and fresh basil.
Making sauces and condiments from scratch has been my obsession for as long as I can recall- so much so that I've tried making everything from infused butters like pesto butter and hot honey butter to seasonings and food preserves.
This time, I had some preserved lemons that I wanted to put to use, and what could be better than teaming them up with some fresh herbs to make something wicked delicious?
Quick Look
- 🔪Prep time: 10 minutes.
- ⏲️Cook time: 0 minutes.
- 👪 Servings: 6.
- 📋Main ingredients: Preserved lemon, garlic, red pepper flakes, herbs and olive oil.
- ♨️Cooking method: Chop preserved lemon 🡢 combine with chopped herbs and garlic 🡢 season and add oil 🡢 mix well and refrigerate before serving.
- ⭐Difficulty: Very easy.
- 🥣Serving ideas: Use it to season your sausage and potato foil packets or spoon it over your Air Fryer Parmesan asparagus.
Jump to:
What's So Great About the Recipe?
- It's so easy to make. It's the simplest no-cook recipe that comes together in under 10 minutes if you're quick.
- It's really versatile- just like my homemade chili garlic oil. You can use it to jazz up pretty much any of your favorite foods.
Recipe Ingredients
Preserved lemon: The hero ingredient! Chop it up finely with a sharp knife before using it.
Garlic: For that savory depth. Use Air Fryer roasted garlic for a smoky flavor.
Herbs: Fresh parsley and basil. I used flat leaf parsley here. You can also use dried parsley if that's what you have.
Red pepper flakes: For a nice kick of heat. If you're sensitive to heat, cut down the amount you're using.
Oil: Stick to extra virgin olive oil for the best flavor. Sometimes, I use my lemon infused olive oil for some extra citrusy flavor.
See recipe card for quantities.
Substitutions & Variations
- You can play around with the seasonings and the kind of herbs you're using here. Fresh oregano and thyme are good options. You can also use fresh mint if you have it at hand.
- Skip adding red pepper flakes if you want to keep the lemon gremolata simple. I love adding some of my homemade jalapeno flakes sometimes.
How to Make Preserved Lemon Gremolata
Step 1: Chop the flesh and rind of the preserved lemon into small chunks using a sharp knife.
Step 2: Add to a bowl along with chopped herbs and garlic.
Step 3: Season with salt and red pepper flakes.
Step 4: Add oil and mix well. Refrigerate for a few hours before serving.
💭Top Tip
You can adjust the texture of the gremolata by chopping the preserved lemons into smaller pieces/chunks.
Tips & Tricks to Nail the Recipe
- For additional flavor, you can squeeze the juice of half a lemon into the mix. If you whisk this nicely into the Gremolata, you will end up with a nice emulsified sauce.
- You can also add a bit of freshly grated lemon zest if you want to!
- Use an infused salt like jalapeno salt or garlic parsley salt to amp up the flavors of the sauce.
- If you can, make it a day ahead of time- it allows the flavors to deepen further. This is true for most condiments- including my favorite roasted garlic sauce and my garlic lemon butter sauce for pasta.
How to Use Preserved Lemon Gremolata
This zesty preserved lemon gremolata is perfect to spoon over your favorite grilled or roasted meats. I love teaming it up with my Sumac chicken and sometimes even with my crispy Italian chicken cutlets.
You can also spoon this over your simple rice bowls or toss them with some roasted or air fried veggies (I've loved using it with my roasted potatoes and broccoli). And of course, it makes for a splendid soup topping too- I particularly love drizzling it over my bowl of cilantro chicken soup. I think it also tastes amazing with shrimp in particular. I can't wait to try using it for my garlic lemon butter shrimp recipe.
Troubleshooting and FAQs
You can refrigerate the preserved lemon gremolata for up to 5 days and use it directly whenever you want to.
I wouldn't recommend freezing preserved lemon gremolata as it can ruin the bright green color of the fresh herbs.
More Condiments to Try
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
If you tried this preserved lemon gremolata or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Preserved Lemon Gremolata
Ingredients
- 1 preserved lemon
- 1 cup parsley
- 1 cup basil
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1-2 garlic
- 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Chop the flesh and rind of the preserved lemon into small chunks using a sharp knife.
- Add to a bowl along with chopped herbs and garlic.
- Season with salt and red pepper flakes.
- Add oil and mix well. Refrigerate for a few hours before serving.
Notes
- You can adjust the texture of the gremolata by chopping the preserved lemons into smaller pieces/chunks.
- For additional flavor, you can squeeze the juice of half a lemon into the mix. If you whisk this nicely into the Gremolata, you will end up with a nice emulsified sauce.
- Use an infused salt like jalapeno salt or garlic parsley salt to amp up the flavors of the sauce.
