A good friend of ours returned from Australia a few weeks ago and gave us this interesting bottle of lemon myrtle infused macadamia oil, complete with “I was so sure you would know what to do with this…” Yeah, right. It is a wonderful present and we are grateful; we just haven’t ever come across this before. The bottle reads “Cold-pressed macadamia oil, high in mono-unsaturated fat. this oil has been infused with Lemon Myrtle to creale a light and flavourful salad dressing, basting oil or marinade.” But salad dressing with what type of acid, lemon juice? Basting oil for chicken? Or marinade for fish? You guys have any ideas? Myrtle, by the way, I had to look it up, is a fragrant shrub which sometimes has edible berries. The Ancient Greeks considered it sacred to Venus, according to Alan Davidson. The best sounding suggestion(s) offered by Marketmanila readers (that is doable for Marketman) will be attempted and featured in a future post… My best idea would be to make a heavy lemon pound cake with whole macadamia nuts and some of this lemon myrtle oil to flavor it… What do you think???
12 Responses
we cooked this dish at school, using walnut oil, and i think macadamia oil will be a good substitute.
1. soak round goat’s cheese in macadamia oil, add some crushed peppercorns and chopped herbs like thyme and let it infuse for a couple of hours.
2. use the infusion to make a dressing with white wine vinegar.
3. make croutons the same size as the goat’s cheese.
4. just before service, place cheese on top of crouton and gratinate.
5. to serve, toss salad greens in dressing and place gratinated cheese on top of salad. drizzle dressing on top of cheese and/or around plate.
what do you think, marketman?
Sounds like a plan lemon myrtle pound cake with macadamia chopped nuts glazed. I would imagine for the glaze use powdered sugar cooked with milk or cream for extra flavor take off from the heat add few dashes of lemon myrtle oil and chopped macadamia nuts mix well and pour it on the cake while still warm and serve it with strawberry or any berries combination compote on the side. I admit my ignorance this is the first time I heard myrtle. This is something new to me.
warm the oil in a saucepan, add some lemon juice and grated lemon rind, some salt, pepper and grated parmesan. cook some fettuccine (i suspect plain egg noodles would work as well) till al dente, drain lightly and add to oil mixture, along with some pasta water, and toss. i am just imagining this is the way i would use this oil, because it looks and sounds lovely but i’ve never come across it. also, i make this recipe with butter instead of oil, and it is an easy all-time favorite. tell us what you did, finally.
This oil is widely use in Australia. A relative living there gave me some of this too when she went for a visit. I have tried using it with fish and pasta dishes.Try marinating fish steaks with it. If you’ll ever make salad dressing,add some extra lemon juice accdg. your preference and some balsamic or red wine vinegar then some spices if you like.I can imagine a Friday “abstinence” with it, perfect!
Although I am a big fan of infused oils, I’ve never heard of lemon myrtle but from a bit of googling it seems like lemon myrtle can be used in many ways than one, from cooking to ingredients in soaps and lotions. I might need to read the labels of my bath products when I have a chance. LOL.
One Australian site I found recommends using the oil in salads and fish. I would probably mix it with a bit of balsalmic vinegar tossed it in a bed of spinach with some almonds and pomengranate seeds. I love this combination, the sweetness of the pomegranate balances out the tartness of the balsamic and in this case the lemon myrtle. Although, I would also probably try cooking it with some prawns. Too bad they use macadamia oil, I’m severely allergic to macadamia nuts, so I would not even give the oil a try.
And oh, MM, they do use lemon myrtle powder or syrup for cake or custards recipes, but I can’t see why you can’t use the infused oil, my mouth is watering for lemon cheesecake right now. LOL.
Oh, btw since you mention lemon pound cake..I remember a lemon cake recipe from a dessert cookbook I used during the holidays that didn’t need too much eggs,butter,sugar. It used ground almonds. Everything is just mixed thoroughly and serve warm infused with a lemon syrup(prick the cake all over & pour)and poached pear on the side. It is easy and really good. I think your pound cake will be great with the lemon myrtle, a good idea!
Curiosity and Google go hand in hand…Seems like lemon myrtle (an Australian native plant) is a lemon/lemon grass substitute.
Anyway, at the last “Made in Hawaii Festival” in Honolulu, one of the exhibitors, Oils of Aloha, offered bread pieces to dip into their different mac nut oils: regular, pepper-infused, Italian-herb infused and garlic-infused. I couldn’t make up my mind as to which particular one to buy, I ended up buying their sampler. They also have a website with a recipe section
(https://oilsofaloha.com/macrecipes.php), and perhaps the Australian lemon myrtle-infused mac nut oil can be substituted, with some tweaking, for the recipes calling for mac nut oil and lemon.
I think it would be divine with fish.
Try making pesto, substitute pine nuts with macadamia nuts and instead of using EVOO, just use your macadamia infused oil; lots of fresh basil, S & P TT. I recommend Penne pasta, to coat with sauce a la minute (right before serving).
oh, I forgot! lots of shredded asiago cheese or parmasano regano pls.
Peter J., that recipe wins the prize! I will definitely try that one. I happen to have macadamia nuts in the fridge and have everything except asiago. Will do this as soon as I get back to Manila… thanks!
Don’t cook this oil – it is liquid gold and the cold pressed value would be wasted. Use on it’s own as a dipping oil with soft bread and dukkah or drizzle over a salad. Also delicious mixed with very good quality aged balsamic vinegar as a salad dressing. I have been adding various tropical fruits to my salads and this dressing is delicious on them.