Bush Food IS-5 Lime July09.Pub

Australian Bush Foods: Information Sheet 5 Wild Limes Citrus spp. Common names: Desert Lime, Finger Lime, Sunrise Lime, Outback Lime and Blood Lime. Distribution: Sourced from several species of native Australian citrus species, these fruits can be found in many environments, from rainforests to arid areas. Desert Lime is widespread in inland woodlands and scrubs and on heavy clay soils in New South Wales and southern Queensland. In South Australia it is only found in a small area north-west of Port Augusta. Three cultivars of wholly or partly Australian native citrus parentage have been developed by CSIRO at their Merbein research facility: the Australian Outback Lime, the Australian Blood Lime and the Australian Sunrise Lime. Description: A spiny shrub or small slender tree with slender leaves and small citrus fruits. The white flowers, produced in spring, are followed in late spring and summer by yellow or orange or green fruits. Some of the fruits resemble tiny lemons, while others are long and thin. All have a porous rind and sour juicy centre. The Outback Lime is an improved variety of desert lime (Citrus glauca), selected for its larger fruit and because of its natural tendency to ripe fruit. The Sunrise Lime arose from a hybrid of the native finger lime and a calamondin (cross between a mandarin and a cumquat). The Blood Lime was selected from a cross between a sour mandarin and a pigmented variant of the native finger lime (Citrus australasica). Despite all cultivars having a lemon-like acidity, each lime has its own unique flavour. Commercial use: Fruit is available from producers fresh, frozen or preserved in a sugar syrup. Commercial jams, pickles, chutneys and sauces are also available. © DKCRC 2009 Author: Ange Vincent – July 2009 Desert Knowledge CRC Australian Bush Foods: Information Sheet 5 Recipes for Wild Limes Seafood laksa with wild lime and lemon myrtle Adapted from: http://www.dining-downunder.com 4 cloves garlic, peeled 8–12 scallops in the half shell 50 g minced ginger 8 king prawns 4 shallots 2 squid tubes 4 small red chillies (or as hot as you choose) 1/2 teaspoon ground lemon myrtle 1 teaspoon peanut oil for frying 10 g wild limes 1 teaspoon of shrimp paste 60 ml wild lime syrup (from the jar of limes) 500 ml coconut milk or 300 ml coconut cream 300 g linguini or fresh noodles 300 ml chicken stock 1 tablespoon of salt 400 g snapper fillets cut into 8 pieces a dash of sesame seed oil Mince the garlic, ginger, shallots and chilli together, fry with a little oil for 5 minutes then add in the shrimp paste and continue frying for half a minute longer. Add the chicken stock, bring to the boil and begin reducing. Add the coconut milk, lower the heat (simmer) and continue reducing to a thick soupy consistency. In another pot, cook the linguini or noodles as per instructions on the packet. When the linguini is cooked, drain it, add a dash of sesame oil and keep warm. While the ‘soup’ is reducing to around ¼ of its original volume, peel and de-vein the prawns, cut the squid tubes into bite sized pieces and score them, then remove any bones from the snapper fillets. When the soup has reduced, add the prepared squid, snapper, prawns, scallops, wild lime and wild lime syrup to the coconut soup base, and keep the laksa at a gentle boil until the seafood is cooked. To serve, place some linguini or noodles into each bowl, then spoon out the seafood, being careful to give each serve some of everything. Cover with the laksa sauce and sprinkle with a little more lemon myrtle and sprigs of coriander and chervil. Desert lime and macadamia nut pudding Adapted from: http://www.dining-downunder.com/ 50 g chopped macadamia nuts 150 g fresh desert or sunrise limes, sliced whole 135 g butter 120 g self-raising flour 75 g soft brown sugar 1/2 teaspoon Outback salt 2 tablespoons ginger, lemon and lime marmalade 120 g castor sugar 1/2 teaspoon ground lemon myrtle 2 eggs, beaten Dry roast the chopped nuts until the fines just begin to darken. Melt 15 g of butter in a pan, add the brown sugar and marmalade, stir well to dissolve the sugar. Remove from heat and sprinkle in the lemon myrtle. Butter a deep oven- proof dish and pour in the mixture. Spread the slices of lime over the mixture. Beat the castor sugar with the remaining butter. Add the eggs and mix, then add the sieved flour and salt, stirring well. Pour this mix carefully over the fruit and bake at 180°C for 35 minutes. When cooked, turn out on a plate so that the limes are on top. The mix will be pudding soft in the centre and good to eat with ice-cream or cream. Find more bush food information sheets on the Desert Knowledge CRC Bush Products web page: http://www.desertknowledgecrc.com.au/research/bushproducts.html .

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