Thomas Keller's Cured Lemons: Part 1 of Who Knows?

There's a lot more to the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen than drinking fine wine, eating gourmet food, and attending fabulous parties.

Learning recipes and techniques like this cured lemon from some of the world's best chefs is also a big part of the reason I wear a smile on my face for about a week after my return.

This recipe was shared by Thomas Keller during his "World's Best Preserves" demo, which you may have read about in Part 1 of my top ten highlights recap. This technique is fun, very simple, and you'll be surprised at how many interesting things you can do with these salty slices of sunshine.

This is just the beginning. Stay tuned for a few follow-up recipes with some great ideas for using the preserved lemons. I think I'm going to try it minced in an herb aioli, as well as roasted whole over some quail or other bird. If you want to play along at home, start a batch soon, and be sure to chime in with suggestions for what to do with this stuff. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 3 lemons, washed in hot water, cut into 1/8-inch thick slices
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup kosher salt
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup sugar