Homemade Sweet Tart

I love citrus especially lemons and limes. The smell of lemons reminds me of my Grandmother, Angelina Aquilino. I can remember watching her spritz her wrists with the oil from a fresh lemon peel as an all natural perfume when I was a child and the smell of fresh lemon floods my mind with so many great memories of time spent together. The powers of citrus are amazing, you can use them as a perfume, as a cleaning agent and my favorite as food! 

We tend to make a monthly trip to our local Costco and during the spring and summer months they usually have bags of lemons and limes in the produce section at an amazing price. At the grocery store it is usually close to $1.00 for a lemon and when they are on sale you may find limes 2 for $1.00.During our last trip I decided I wanted limes and for around $5.00 I bought my mesh bag of several dozen limes. 

The first thing I do after rinsing them is slice several of them into wedges and place them next to the water jug in the refrigerator then I juice several of them for use in my daily cooking. Then I start thinking of other ways to enjoy them. 

Last week I decided I wanted pudding. I like making homemade pudding with lemons so I decided I would try making it with limes instead!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup cornstarch

5 cups milk

6 egg yolks, lightly beaten

Grated lime zest (I used several limes worth)

Pinch salt

1 cup fresh lime juice

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

Directions:

Whisk the sugar and the cornstarch together in a medium saucepan. Add the milk and whisk until smooth. Add the egg yolks, zest, and salt and cook, stirring frequently at first and constantly towards the end, over medium heat until thickened.

Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the lemon juice and butter. (If you don't want any bits and pieces you can pour through a strainer) Pour the mixture into a large serving bowl or individual serving dishes.

Let cool to room temperature. Chill, loosely covered, for at least 2 hours and up to 3 days, or until set and thoroughly chilled. Serve chilled.

This can also be poured into a pre-cooked or cookie type pie crust for a key lime pie style desert!

P.S: Next time I think I will skip the butter. I liked the sheen it gave the finished product but didn't care for the buttery notes it gave the pudding.