These are packed with amazing flavour. You can crush one with the bottom of a mug on a cutting board, and then eat the black inside to get a sense of the amazing, zingy, tart taste. These are great ground up, added to whipping cream to top berries, or chocolate cake.
These limes are harvested when ripe, boiled in salt water and then left to dry in the sun. Used in many Middle Eastern dishes, they have a great tart citrus taste. Perfect for a fish stew. They can be either crushed, ground or pierced and used whole, before being added to a dish.
Here is a recipe from Ottolenghi
Rice salad with Fava Beans, Pistachios, and Loomi.
½cup wild rice
Kosher salt
1 cup basmati rice
1 dried Iranian lime
1 cup fresh shelled fava beans (from about 1 lb. pods) or frozen, thawed
½ cup chopped fresh dill
½ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
½ cup unsalted, raw pistachios
¼ cup olive oil
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
½ teaspoon Iranian lime powder ( loomi ground in a mortar & pestle. or coffee grinder)
Cook wild rice in a medium pot of boiling salted water until tender and grains start to split, 35–40 minutes. Drain; let cool.
Meanwhile, combine basmati rice, pierce the whole lime and add, and 1½ cups water in a medium saucepan, season with salt, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer 10 minutes. Remove from heat and fluff with a fork. Cover; let sit until water is absorbed, about 5 minutes. Let cool; discard lime after squeezing.
If using fresh fava beans, cook in a large saucepan of boiling salted water until tender, about 4 minutes. Drain; transfer to a bowl of ice water. Drain and peel. (If using frozen fava beans, cook 2 minutes; transfer to a bowl of ice water, then drain.)
Toss wild rice, basmati rice, dill, parsley, pistachios, oil, lemon zest and juice, lime powder, and fava beans in a large bowl; season with salt.
