Limes are a scarce commodity in South Africa, so when they show up (usually in Woolies), I scoop them up. This time, I had particular motivation - recreating the fantastic Ginger Margarita I had at the W's Spice Market restaurant a few months ago. Executive Chef Peter Lloyd was visiting this particular W location from London and we got chatting. I wonder if he might be interested in a free week's stay at The Island in exchange for whipping up a single fantastic dinner? hmm.... Anyway, he gave me the drink recipe - but it's also on the web, freely available to all.
If you want to do the 100% real thing, here's the original recipe. I opted to use this one instead (no lemon grass, and using ground ginger instead of "making your own" from scratch....) - just as good and not quite as labour intensive (well, actually, at two days in the preparation, this was *the* most labour-intensive drink I've ever made!). Most of the work went into preparing the ginger-lime syrup.
Was it worth it? You betcha!
If you want to do the 100% real thing, here's the original recipe. I opted to use this one instead (no lemon grass, and using ground ginger instead of "making your own" from scratch....) - just as good and not quite as labour intensive (well, actually, at two days in the preparation, this was *the* most labour-intensive drink I've ever made!). Most of the work went into preparing the ginger-lime syrup.
Was it worth it? You betcha!
You're going to need fresh lime juice for the syrup... I used 4 bags (4 cups of juice) and I bought an extra bag for garnish and an extra squeeze or two when mixing the drink. The actual drink recipe only calls for 1.5 tablespoons of the syrup per serving - it does boil down, but not by much. So, unless you're a bit of a margarita madman like me, 1 bag should be more than enough.
And of course, you'll need ginger and sugar (you'll need more than 1 kg if you're looking for 4 cups - this was just part of my stash...). You slice the ginger finely.
Turns out this was about 7.5 cups of ginger - I only needed 4 (the syrup is comprised equal parts lime juice, sugar and sliced ginger). So, looks like we'll have plenty of stir-fries (I could double the drink recipe, but there are no more limes available!)... Luckily ginger freezes well - just pop it in a sealable bag.
Throw it all in a pan... (the recipe says "small" pan - I suggest a large one, otherwise, you'll end up with a caramelized mess all over your stove top/hob once it starts boiling over...)
Give it a stir...
Bring it to high temperature and then let it boil for 2 minutes (mind the spilling over the edges...)
There you go - the concoction after the boil. All that juicing and slicing was not in vain! Then you let it cool, stick it in your food processor and puree before finally pressing the sticky mess through a fine-meshed strainer, trying to extract as much of the juice from the ginger as possible. Another very messy operation - don't let your spouse see you doing this with their blender - or else, be very fast on the clean-up, as I was...
Now, you're friends and house guests who have all been enjoying the beach while you've been slaving away come back from their fun and are ready for those long-promised drinks.... First things first, wet the glass, then get that rim salted with a combination of ground ginger and sea salt (very tasty, actually).
And then the good stuff - some 100% Agave Reposada Tequila and some Cointreau. I once did a "Tequila Tasting" and my Mexican hostesses were very firm: Jose Cuervo just doesn't cut it. That doesn't usually stop me, but with discerning guests in town, I decided I'd better use some of the better stuff this time around.
Now you're ready for the cocktail shaker - add 45 millilitres (3 shots) of tequila, 15 millilitres of Cointreau (a single shot) and 22 millilitres of that ginger-lime syrup (1.5 tablespoons) and a good squeeze of fresh lime juice. Don't forget the ice.
The nearly-finished product - it just needs a bit of fine-tuning...
There we go - add a slice of lime for a garnish and you're done! Did I mention this was a 2-day long project?
Stuffed jalapenos are the perfect accompaniment to this drink. I use a combination of cream cheese and cheddar cheese... mmm, mmm, mmm!
This time, I opted for the "mild" chillies at Woolies, rather than the "Russian-Roulette-Meets-Bear-Spray" variety I've used before, which have left guests gasping for breath (see http://www.theislandgreatbrak.com/island-blog/post-beach-walk-bear-spray-stuffed-chillies). There were no tears this time (personally, I like a challenge...)
Here are the stuffed jalapenos, ready to hit the gas braai - a toothpick comes in handy if you need to hold them together. And well, the rest is history.
