Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Rosie Makes Lime Pie.


 
 Good Neighbor Bobby was at our watering hole the other night,
and was raving about the Key Lime Pie he'd had at a local restaurant.
Naturally, I took that as a challenge.

Rosie's making Lime Pie.
Not Key Lime Pie.
I'm making Persian Lime Pie.

"Key" lime is a specific variety of lime -
Citrus aurantifolia Swingle.
It is not exclusive to the Florida Keys,
but it was brought there years ago
and became naturalized.
C. aurantifolia is native to Southeast Asia.
It traveled through the Middle East, North Africa,
Sicily, Andalucia, South America, West Indies, Florida Keys,
Texas, Mexico, and California.

Key limes are smaller - ping pong to golf ball size -
than what we are usually offered in grocery stores,
which is the Persian lime (AKA Tahitian lime)- Citrus latifolia.
It is believed this variety was introduced
 to the Mediterranean area via Persia (now Iran).
Portuguese traders carried the limes to Brazil
and eventually they made it to California in the late 1800s.
Florida is now the largest grower of Persian limes,
producing 90% of the US crop.

Now that you have been edumacated in Key and Persian limes,
let's make PIE!


For the crust:
Heat oven to 375°.

1 package graham crackers
1/2 cup sugar
4 TB butter, melted
Combine all in processor.
Mix well. 

Press mixture firmly into a 9-inch pie pan.
Bake until brown - about 20 minutes.
Cool to room temperature before filling.

Reduce oven temperature to 325°.





Now for the filling.
Lime Filling
2 eggs, room temperature
2 14-ounce cans sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup lime juice (Took 7 limes for me.)
1 cup sour cream
1 heaping tablespoon grated lime zest


To quickly get eggs to room temp,
I set them in a bowl of hot tap water.

Beat eggs, condensed milk,
lime juice, and sour cream.
Stir in some of the zest,
reserving a bit to sprinkle over top.
Bake at 325° for about 20-25 minutes.
Cool completely.
Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Ready for the oven.



Baked pie.



Almost a cheesecake-like texture.
 
So creamy.

And limey!







Bottom line:  quite excellent pie.

4 comments:

Kathy said...

Beautiful! When you said "almost cheesecake-like texture", it made me think - how do you think it would turn out if you subbed cream cheese for the sour cream?

Rosie Hawthorne said...

I don't see why cream cheese wouldn't work, Kathy. Pretty darn good with the sour cream.

vera charles said...

I hope you see this comment, Rosie. I made this Lime Pie for some visiting relatives over the weekend. It was great! So delicious and creamy. Thanks for a great recipe!

Rosie Hawthorne said...

Vera Charles, I see your comment. Thank you so much for trying my lime pie!