I’ve been interested in native Australian finger limes for a while so I chose to plant a blood lime as it suits the cool climate here. A cross between red finger lime and Ellendale mandarin, their colour ranges from lime to burgundy and they’re a little sweeter then standard limes. The skin and flesh can both be eaten and the juice is both in and around the little vesicles which pop in your mouth. As they’re so small, I thought laterally about how to juice them and I came up with the idea of a garlic press! It’s a bit like a mini Mexican-style lime squeezer and as long as it’s stainless steel the garlic taste won’t linger.
I decided to make a blood lime and coconut ice cream. First, squeeze the limes (any limes will work) and keep the skins. Measure 2 cups of milk and take out 2 tablespoons to make a slurry with 2 tablespoons of cornflour (cornstarch) and set this aside. Heat the rest of the milk in a saucepan with 1¼ cups of heavy cream, ⅔ of a cup of sugar, 2 tablespoons of glucose, 1 cup of desicaated coconut and all the lime skins. Bring to the boil and allow to simmer for 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and pour in the cornflour slurry. Stir and return to the heat to thicken. Meanwhile heat the lime juice with 2 tablespoons of sugar until the sugar has dissolved. In another bowl whisk 3 tablespoons of softened cream cheese with ⅛ of a teaspoon of salt. Pour the hot milk mixture and the lime syrup into the bowl and mix until smooth. Cool the mixture down by placing the bowl in an ice bath. When the mixture is cold, strain to remove the coconut and lime skins and it’s ready to churn.
michelle picker cooks 