Preserved Lemon Gremolata

We are over the moon for gremolata. The magic is in its balance of flavors: herby freshness and citrus, with a gentle bit of garlicky bite - guaranteed to wake up your palate and elevate almost any dish from blah to brilliant. It is one of the greatest condiments of all time and it comes together in a few minutes, and with only three ingredients.

Classic gremolata, made from finely minced parsley, garlic, and lemon zest, is the traditional garnish for the Italian braised veal dish osso buco. Gremolata’s bright, assertive flavors perfectly offset the rich meat.

In this version, we use non-traditional preserved lemon. We love its briny boost. If you don’t have preserved lemons on hand, not to worry. Substitute a couple of tablespoons of capers for similar zing. Or go the traditional route and simply use fresh lemon zest.

Here are a few fun ideas for sprinkling that Italian gremolata sunshine into your dishes:

Top grilled or roasted meats, seafood, and vegetables

Add a couple of glugs of olive oil and use it as a marinade, or fold into pasta dishes of all kinds

Whisk into vinaigrettes

Use in a compound butter to top corn on the cob or a grilled steak

Mix into fresh breadcrumbs (now you have a double threat topping!)

And a few words of wisdom to make your gremolata the best it can be:

Do not, we beg you, get out your food processor for this! The aggressive motion and heat of the spinning blade will result in a sad, bitter, mushy green mess. Sharpen your knife, and embrace the zen of chopping, continuing until the ingredients are very finely minced.

Along with, or instead of, using preserved lemon, you can vary your gremolata in other ways. Our favorite version combines parsley and mint leaves. Orange zest instead of lemon is nice, especially in winter. Green garlic is lovely when you can get it.