Billy Goat Plums, or more recently “Kakadu Plums” are Terminalia ferdiandiana and have hit the mainstream headlines as a super food. Of course these have always been eaten by the people of northern Australia and fruit around May. I have been lucky enough to be able to collect some (with a permit), and even accompany Larrakia elder Leslie Gordon when facilitating a bush tucker and indigenous knowledge workshop.
These fruits contain a very high dose of Vitamin C and are being collected in some remote communities and then dried and made into products. They also have been found to have preserving qualities.
I have been experimenting with some recipes, including the following take on “Bliss balls”, which give a tasty kick of natural energy. I also incorporated dates that are grown in Alice Springs to make them truly “Territory treats”. I used the flesh of fresh fruits, with the seeds removed (these were then treated and used to propagate more plants). You can freeze this flesh, or if you don’t have access to fresh fruit, you can use powder. I used Alice Springs dates which are available at Greenies Real Food In Darwin.
So here’s the recipe. You can add a little water if the mixture is too dry. It is easy to experiment with other ingredients and make your own treats to taste.
- 1 cup dates- from Alice Springs !
- 1 cup Billy goat plums (Kakadu Plums) – flesh cut when ripe but firm from stones- frozen or used fresh or
- ½ cup of “Kakadu Plum” powder
- ½ cup Chopped almonds or almond meal
- ½ cup Desiccated coconut
- ½ teaspoon Cacao (optional)
- Vanilla essence or orange oil
- 1 tablespoon Coconut oil
Whizz Billy goat plum and dates (in a food processor) then add other ingredients and mix into a bowl
Roll into a ball and then roll in more chopped almonds mixed with coconut meal/ desiccated coconut
Refrigerate