I am fortunate enough to have semi-regular access to a wonderfully full Indian supermarket. I am also fortunately enough to be able to buy random products with no idea what to do with them. The last purchase of this sort was a packet of dried limes. It appears that dried limes are mostly used in Iranian cooking, based on my limited research, and the first recipe I tried was Iranian stew (recipe Here). This was a sort of success. It was edible, quite yummy in fact, but the limes didn’t stand out and I’m not a huge fan of tomatoes, particularly fresh ones used in cooking.

More research was required.

The next recipe I found was Mexican soup (recipe Here). Right from the off I knew I’d have to change significant parts of it, I’m a vegetarian and it has chicken in it. The aforementioned dislike of tomatoes was another reason. Mostly though I enjoy tweaking recipes and I dislike doing things that don’t seem logical to me. If you tell me to spend 4 hours peeling, chopping or massaging something it is highly unlikely I am going to…I’ll find the pre-peeled, pre-chopped and pre-massaged versions and use those.

So my recipe is different. (Use the juice of two limes at the end of this recipe if you cannot find dried ones).

However, if you are not a vegetarian and enjoy following what looks like a pretty tasty recipe then please give the original a go. He adds cheese at the end, it is surely worth it just for that.

My version is below:

• 1/2 diced red onion
• 2 cloves garlic, sliced thinly
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1/2 tbsp cumin
• 1/2 tbsp chilli powder (I used chipotle)
• 1/2 tbsp oregano
• 1/2 packet frozen Quorn chicken pieces (or prefered veggie option)
• 1/2 jar tomatillo salsa (discovered in Waitrose)
• 600ml veg stock
• 2 dried limes (stabbed viciously, but carefully, with a knife first)

Heat the butter in a large saucepan, add onions and garlic to soften. Add your Quorn pieces and spices, stir until all covered then add in your salsa. Mix in well and turn the heat right down. Pour in your veg stock and drop in the dried limes. Cook this on the lowest heat possible for an hour or so, stirring gently occasionally. You really need the dried limes to rehydrate, then you can squash them against the side of the saucepan with a spoon. When everything is done to your satifaction remove the dried limes and eat.

I ate one half of this as soup:

and the other half with baked tortilla chips and rice:

Both of these worked really well for me and I will definitely be making it again!