Bushel of Kaffir Lime Leaves and Fruit – Ideas?

[Dejah]

A friend pruned his kaffir lime tree today and gave me ALL the branches he cut. I've got 5 large Ziplock bags of leaves plus a couple dozen of the limes.

Besides Thai cuisine and a Kaffir lime syrup cake : (based on a recipe from Mix & Bake by Belinda Jeffery), how else can I use these leaves?!

[heidih]

With all such abundance I tend to think of the leaves as herbs. I freeze what will not be lovely for long. They make excellent fragrant beds for roasting or steaming items. You can chop up masses of them and heat them for a bit in an oil of your choice to make a flavored oil. The fruits can be frozen and then used in marinades or chopped up and made into a quick marmalade or as as kitchen sink sort of chutney - whatever is around and makes sense.

[Bojana]

I am jealous! I cannot get my hands on fresh leaves, wish I would have a friend like yours!

[Baselerd]

I made a great crudo recipe from the Uchi Cookbook recently using kaffir lime leaves - definitely didn't use as many as you have though.

The recipe had you make kaffir lime oil, pickled cucumber, and pickled shallots. Then you simply dress some raw Cobia with the kaffir lime oil and plate with the pickled shallots/cucumber - garnish with mint leaves, thinly sliced jalapeno, a bit more of the oil, a squirt of the lime juice, and a pinch of sea salt.

With that said, the kaffir lime oil itself should be a very versatile ingredient in it's own right.

Edited February 4, 2013 by Baselerd (log)

[Jaymes]

With all such abundance I tend to think of the leaves as herbs. I freeze what will not be lovely for long. They make excellent fragrant beds for roasting or steaming items. You can chop up masses of them and heat them for a bit in an oil of your choice to make a flavored oil. The fruits can be frozen and then used in marinades or chopped up and made into a quick marmalade or as as kitchen sink sort of chutney - whatever is around and makes sense.

Yes. I have a kaffir lime (or "wild Thai lime," I guess we're supposed to say) tree. My son cooks Thai food often and uses the leaves. From time to time, I take him bundles, which he freezes, to no ill effect.

[annabelle]

Somehow, I don't believe I have ever tasted kaffir lime. Is it very similar to the limes grown in the US? The larger limes or Key limes? Does it get bitter upon standing, as that has been my experience with lime that is used to make limeade?