Last week Things My Belly Likes threw down a challenge to cook and bake with items that one would normally bypass in the grocery store. Check out her blog and see just how crazy and creative she got with this. I, as usual, was a little slow on the uptake and not only missed out on the week’s challenges, I only managed to come up with one challenge recipe. Better late than never. Incidentally, I completely rejected the idea of using lima beans (I’m not ready to go there yet, if ever). Instead, I poked around our sporadically lame, occasionally bountiful Walmart produce section and chose a cute little bag of key limes. I know, I know – how challenging is that? Well, I’ll have you know that I’d never created nor ever eaten anything with key limes so I’m saying they fall squarely in the “challenge” category. Yes, I could’ve grabbed some jicama, but c’mon people. I’m only human.
This pie is a combination of coconut creme and key lime so the tangy lime has been tamed somewhat – feel free to up the amount of juice (reducing the other liquids to compensate) or add more lime zest. The hint of chocolate and the crunch of the toasted coconut and cacao nibs is a wonderful counterpart to the creaminess of the “custard.” I’m pretty happy with the results of this challenge. Bring on the lima beans (not)!
Chocolate-coated Key Lime-Coconut Creme Pie
Serves 8
Crust:
1 cup nut meal (I used almond, left over from making milk)
1 cup walnuts
1 tbsp. hemp seeds
2 tbsp. maple syrup
2 tbsp. date puree
Crust coating:
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 tbsp. coconut oil
1/4 toasted coconut flakes
2 tbsp. Choffy or cacao nibs
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
Filling:
1 cup full fat coconut milk
1/2 cup water
1 tbsp. agar flakes or powder
1 tbsp. arrowroot powder mixed with 1/4 cup cool water
12 oz. silken tofu
1 tbsp. key lime zest
1/4 cup key lime juice
2 tbsp. maple syrup
1/2 tsp. liquid stevia
Make the crust:
Pour the walnuts into the food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped. Add the nut meal and hemp seeds and pulse a few times to combine. Add in the remaining ingredients and process until a moist meal is formed. Pour into deep 9″ pie dish and use wet hands to pat out the crust until evenly distributed along the bottom and sides.
Chocolate-coating:
Line a small baking pan or dish with aluminum foil. Set aside. In a double boiler, melt the coconut oil and chocolate. When smooth, remove from heat and stir in the vanilla, Choffy (cacao nibs) and toasted coconut. Spread about half of the mixture along the bottom and up the sides of the prepared crust. On the prepared baking sheet, drop melted chocolate to form small disks – you aren’t going for perfection here. Put baking sheet and crust in the ‘frige while you prepare the filling.
Filling:
In a small saucepan, bring the coconut milk, water and agar to a boil. Boil gently for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
Meanwhile, combine the lime zest, silken tofu, lime juice, maple syrup, stevia liquid and arrowroot mixture in a food processor and process until very smooth. When the coconut milk mixture is ready, pour it into the food processor and pulse a few times to incorporate it into the tofu mixture. Pour into the prepared crust and refrigerate until firm.
Serve garnished with disks of coconut-Choffy-chocolate on top.
