Lime Pickle
These little beauties are a sharp, tangy, mouth-puckering delight in the same vein as preserved lemon, but the limes are slightly dried (traditionally in the sun), and there’s vinegar involved. My nan always had a batch on hand but her method was to dry one or two limes as needed and add them to the base of the lime pickle jar she had on the go, almost like a constant ferment. I think this is why hers were so good. Lime pickle is most commonly used in sambols, but really, you can use it anywhere you would otherwise add preserved lemon.
This recipe fills a 1 litre (36 fl oz) jar.
Ingredients 4
15 limes, medium, see my tips below
350 g rock salt, approximately
3 dried chillies, small
600 ml white vinegar, approximately
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Method 7
Preheat the oven to its lowest possible setting.
Wash the and, if waxed, use an abrasive kitchen sponge to gently scrape it away.
Cut each into quarters from the top, leaving 1.5 cm (1/2 in) attached at the base so the limes hold together. Balance them on a wire rack inside a baking tray and pack the inside of the limes with as much as they will hold.
Place the tray in the oven for 12–24 hours. The time will depend on your oven and how juicy your are; you want them to dry out enough to turn the skins brown with some salt still inside them, but not to the point of being completely dry and hard.
When the are brown enough, pack them into a 1 litre (36 fl oz) sterilised jar, along with the . Discard any liquid that has pooled in the bottom of your tray. Top up the jar with , tap it down to remove any air bubbles, and secure the lid.
Now leave the to pickle at room temperature. My nan told me to keep the jar somewhere warm and turn it every couple of weeks. The limes will be ready to use in as little as 2 months, but they will get better and better over time. The unopened jar will keep for years; once opened, store it in the fridge.
Prepare the exactly as you would a preserved lemon – remove the pulp and use the skin (see my tips below).
O Tama Carey's tips
Unwaxed limes are ideal here if you can source them. You can also use imperfect or slightly discoloured limes as they are going to be dried out anyway. If you happen to have a dehydrator, use this instead of an oven.
At LFS we actually keep the pulp from our lime pickle (without the seeds) and blitz to puree to use as a seasoning paste. It is super salty and tangy, but can add a great flavour if used judiciously.
