Couscous Parsley Salad with Lemon

1/4 cup couscous
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/4 cup finely chopped flat leaf parsley leaves
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh mint leaves
2 teaspoons finely diced preserved lemon rind
1 tablespoon pine nuts, toasted
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1 small tomato, seeded, peeled, diced
2 Belgian endives, separated into leaves

In a medium bowl, combine the couscous with the water and lemon juice. Let stand 1 hour. To the couscous add the olive oil, parsley, mint, preserved lemon rind, pine nuts, salt and pepper. Mound the couscous in the center of a serving platter. Top with diced tomato. Surround the base with endive leaves. Serve at room temperature.

Moroccan Preserved Lemons

12 unblemished lemons of equal size
Sea salt or table salt

Scrub the lemons under running water and pat dry. Cut a thin slice from each end of a lemon. Set on end and make a vertical cut 3/4 of the way through the fruit, leaving the 2 halves attached. Turn the lemon upside down, rotate 90 degrees, and make a second vertical cut, again 3/4 of the way through the fruit. Fill each cut with as much salt as it will hold. Place the lemon in a sterilized, 1-quart size, wide-mouth canning jar. Proceed in this manner for the remaining lemons, pressing as many into the jar as possible. Seal and set aside at room temperature.

Add additional lemons over the next few days as the rinds of the first lemons begin to soften. By this time, the juices should have risen to cover the lemons. If not, add 1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice mixed with 1 teaspoon of salt. This will prevent the top lemons from darkening. Store at room temperature until the rinds become tender, and the pulp acquires the consistency of jam, 3 to 4 weeks. Refrigerate. Use within 6 months.