Recipes

Chef Kevin Blakeman loves the juice and flavour of Te Puna Limes. Kevin originally trained as a professional chef in the United Kingdom, and after a brilliant four year career as a professional chef at the Houses of Parliament he moved to New Zealand with his partner.

He is well known for his appearances on television in cooking shows and promotional videos and he has worked at a number prestigious restaurants and hotels.

For more information on Kevin Blakeman, click here to go to his website www.chefkevinblakeman.com.

Kevin has kindly put together some of his favourite recipes using Te Puna Limes for us – read below to see his mouth-watering creations.

Handy tip: For ultimate juice extraction, microwave uncut Te Puna Limes for 15 to 20 seconds.

 
 

 
 

Cream Cheese and Avocado Pate

Serves 6-8

Ingredients

  • 70ml of Te Puna Lime juice
  • Zest of 2 Te Puna Limes
  • 250g cream cheese
  • 3 Avocados
  • Handful of chives, chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 1 long red chilli, deseeded and chopped
  • 1 cup coriander, chopped
  • 50g pistachio nuts, chopped
  • Microgreens to decorate

Method

  1. Grease a small loaf tin, approx 8cm x 22cm. Line base and sides with baking paper overhanging enough to cover.
  2. Add cream cheese, avocado, chives, garlic, lime juice and zest and coriander in a food processor and process until smooth. Add pistachios and pulse to combine.
  3. Place in loaf tin and smooth top. Fold over paper to cover and place in refrigerator for 3 hours until firm.
  4. When ready to service turn carefully onto a serving plate. Cover top with a handful of mixed micro greens or coriander and a few chopped pistachios if you like.
  5. Serve with your favourite crackers or flatbread which has been brushed with oil, seasoned with salt and baked in a hot oven for 8 minutes until crisp and golden then broken/cut into pieces.

Te Puna Lime and Passionfruit Frozen Margarita

Ingredients

  • 25ml Te Puna Lime Juice
  • 30ml Tequila
  • 15ml Triple sec
  • 45ml Passionfruit Syrup
  • 15ml Sugar Syrup
  • Extra lime for garnish

Method

  1. Mix the rest of the ingredients together with the limes.
  2. Blend with ice.
  3. Serve with fresh Te Puna Limes as garnish, I would zest half on to the top of the glass and slice the rest into the drink.

Thai Beefcakes with Sweet Chilli and Te Puna Lime Salsa

Makes about 16 which should be an entrée for 4

Ingredients

  • 500g Mince beef
  • 1 Red onion, finely diced
  • 3 Cloves of garlic, crushed
  • 3 Te Puna Limes zest and juice
  • 1 Free range egg
  • 75g Coriander, finely chopped stalks and leaves
  • 2 Chillies (you can always add more if you want it hotter), finely
  • chopped seeds in or out
  • Canola oil for cooking
  • 250ml Sweet chilli sauce
  • 2 More Te puna limes, zest and juice
  • 30ml Soy sauce
  • 50g Spring onions, finely chopped
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Method

  1. Combine mince, red onion, garlic, Te Puna lime juice and zest, 1 egg, coriander and the chillies
  2. Season with salt and pepper.
  3. Shape into balls the press to make disk shapes.
  4. Heat up a frying pan on medium heat and add the canola oil.
  5. When hot add the beef cakes in a clockwise order so you know which one you put in first and cook until well coloured and cooked. Will probably take about 4 minutes on one side and 1-2 minutes on the other.
  6. Meanwhile add the sweet chilli sauce to the remaining limes and spring onion.
  7. When cooked serve the beefcakes with the Sweet chilli and lime salsa.

Chilli and Te Puna Lime Glazed Rump Steak with Noodle Salad

Serves 4

Ingredients

  • 200g Mushrooms sliced
  • 1 Red onion finely sliced
  • 2-4 packets of your choice of noodles, (cooked)
  • 4 Te Puna Limes, zest and juice
  • 3 Carrots finely sliced
  • 1 Bok choi (Chinese cabbage), finely sliced
  • 50g Fresh Basil, chopped
  • 100ml Sweet chilli sauce
  • 50ml Sweet soy
  • 2 GM Beef Rump Steaks
  • 100ml Cooking oil
  • Salt and pepper

Method

  1. In a fry pan saute the onions and mushrooms, when they have softened add cooked noodles.
  2. To this add the bok choi, Te Puna Lime zest zest, basil, carrots and season.
  3. In a cast iron pan add oil and heat. Season the steaks.
  4. Whilst the oil is heating up mix the sweet chilli, with the Te Puna Lime juice and soy sauce then add a few tablespoons of water.
  5. Add the steaks to a hot pan and turn down the heat slightly, after a couple of minutes spoon half of the chilli mix onto the uncooked side of the steak and turn them.
  6. Glaze again by coating the steaks immediately.
  7. After a couple of minutes begin coating the steak with the pan juice.
  8. When both sides are well coloured remove from the pan onto a chopping board and allow the steaks to rest for at least 5 minutes.
  9. Use the pan juices as a dressing for the noodles.
  10. Plate the noodles and then slice the steak slightly on an angle and place on top of the noodles.

Te Puna Lime and Honey Cheesecake

Ingredients

  • 150g Butter
  • 450g Digestive or ginger biscuits
  • 400g White chocolate
  • 200ml Cream
  • 4 Te Puna Limes, zest and juice
  • 200g Sugar
  • 200g Cream cheese
  • 200g Mascarpone
  • 1 generous tablespoon Manuka honey

Method

  1. Melt the butter and crush the biscuits and combine. Put into your lined cheesecake tin and set in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
  2. Meanwhile melt the white chocolate in a double boiler and separately whip the cream until they have reached soft peak.
  3. Whisk in the cream cheese, mascarpone, Te Puna lime zest & juice and sugar being sure not to over whip the mixture.
  4. After you have allowed the white chocolate to cool slightly fold this into the cream mixture along with the honey.
  5. Now pour this onto the base smooth the top and allow to set in the fridge for at least 4 hours.
  6. On the picture I have served with almond brittle and poached rhubarb.

Seared Duck Breast with Te Puna Lime Nam Jim

Serves four as an entrée

Ingredients for the Nam Jim

  • 100g palm sugar (if unavailable use brown sugar)
  • 3 tbsp fish sauce
  • 5 red chillies, deseeded and finely chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, crushed
  • 50g ginger, crushed
  • 5 coriander root and stems, roughly chopped
  • 3 Te Puna Limes
  • 50g mint
  • 75g almonds

Ingredients for the Duck Breast

  • 2 duck breast
  • salt

You will also need salad of your choice like the chopped salad pictured

Method

Nam Jim

  1. Firstly in a small pot melt the palm sugar with the fish sauce and a little water. This must be done on a low heat.
  2. Allow this to cool
  3. Zest the limes into a food processor, then halve the limes. Squeeze the juice in.
  4. Meanwhile, add the rest of the ingredients to a food processor and blend for about 10 seconds
  5. Add the cooled sugar mix
  6. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days

Cooking duck breast

  1. Preheat oven to 200®C
  2. Trim off excess skin from the duck breast, generally anything that hangs over the side of the flesh
  3. Score four slices on the fat only
  4. Generously season with salt
  5. In a cold heavy based pan on medium heat (NO OIL) add the duck breast skin down
  6. By adding it to the cold pan and cooking like this we are rendering the fat
  7. This should take around 8-10 minutes depending on the size of the breast
  8. Just quickly sear the other side before placing in the oven for the desired time. Again this will depend on the size, but approximately 10-15 minutes
  9. Remove from the oven and place onto a resting tray for 10 minutes before slicing
  10. Serve the duck sliced with a salad of your choice topped with the Nam Jim and an essential wedge of Te Puna Limes

Te Puna Limes and Clam Spaghetti

Serves Four

Ingredients

  • 400-500g spaghetti or other pasta 100ml cooking oil
  • 1 red onion, finely sliced
  • 1 red chilli, deseeded and diced 8-10 clams per person
  • 1 cup white wine
  • 3 Te Puna Limes, zest and juice
  • 10 cherry tomatoes
  • 30g coriander, chopped
  • 30g parsley, chopped
  • 50g olive oil

Method

  1. Bring a large pot of water to the boil. Add salt and pasta and cook following the packet instructions.
  2. While pasta is cooking heat the cooking oil in a large frying pan or two small pans.
  3. Add the onion and chilli. When they are softened stir in the clams and then add the wine and lime juice.
  4. Cover with a lid and cook for five minutes until the clams have opened. Discard any clams that do not open.
  5. Drain the cooked pasta and add to the clam mix and combine thoroughly.
  6. Add the tomatoes, lime zest, coriander, parsley and olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Mix again and serve.

Coriander and Te Puna Limes Mojito

Serves One

Ingredients

  • ¼ cup coriander
  • 1 Te Puna Lime, cut to 1/6s
  • 1 tsp castor sugar
  • 25ml sugar syrup
  • Ice – crushed and blocks
  • 60ml white rum
  • Extra lime wedges and coriander for garnish

Method

  1. Add coriander, lime, sugar and sugar syrup to a cocktail shaker. Shake well.
  2. Add some ice cubes and the rum and shake again.
  3. Strain into a glass of crushed ice.
  4. Finish with the lime and coriander garnish and enjoy.

Harissa Prawn Bruschetta with Dukkha and Te Puna Lime Mayonnaise

Serves Four

Ingredients

  • 3 Te Puna Limes
  • 200ml Mayonnaise
  • 24 Large prawn cutlets, deveined
  • 100g harissa spice
  • 4 Large slices of your favourite artisan bread
  • Olive oil, to coat
  • 100g butter
  • 50ml regular cooking oil
  • 50g dukkha spice
  • 25g Chopped mint

Method

  1. Mix the zest and juice of 3 Te Puna limes with 200 ml of mayonnaise (homemade if possible!).
  2. In a bowl mix the prawns with the harissa spice and a little olive oil to coat.
  3. If you have a grill oil the bread and grill to get a smoky bar mark on the bread otherwise just toast.
  4. Heat a flat bottomed pan with the cooking oil and butter and when hot and bubbling add the prawns and cook until the prawns are tender 3 minutes approximately, turning half way.
  5. Serve immediately, lay the prawns onto the toasted bread garnish with the dukkha spice, mint and Te Puna Lime Mayonnaise.

Seared Scallops with a corn and Te Puna Lime Salsa

Serves Two

Ingredients

  • 100g corn kernels
  • 2 Te Puna Limes
  • 50g jalapenos, finely chopped
  • 25g coriander, finely chopped
  • 1 spring onion, finely chopped
  • 1 large tomato, deseeded and diced
  • Olive oil to coat

For the Scallops

  • 12 scallops, pat dry with paper towel and season
  • 50ml regular cooking oil
  • 50ml butter
  • Salt and pepper

Method

  1. Zest and juice the limes then combine with the corn.
  2. To finish the salsa simply combine the rest of the ingredients from jalapenos to olive oil with the corn and limes.
  3. Heat a large pan (the larger the better to give the scallops more space), with the oil and butter.
  4. When bubbling add the scallops clockwise so you know which one you put in first but do not over crowd the pan or they will boil.
  5. When they have turn golden brown flip the scallops and sear on the other side. (approx. cooking time is 1 minute on each side, or less for the small ones).
  6. Serve immediately with the salsa and an extra half of a Te Puna lime.