A lime extravaganza

Dave's parents are visiting from West Virginia this weekend, and I made them a lime-themed dinner tonight to welcome them to Chicago! Salmon tacos with papaya-lime salsa, margaritas, and lime curd tarts. I've made the margaritas before, but all the rest of the recipes are linked or listed.

Dry-rubbed salmon tacos

I took the spice rub from these tacos, which was really interesting and earthy to go along with the flavor of the salmon.

• 1 tsp. cumin
• 1 tsp. chili powder
• 1 tsp. brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp. coffee grounds

I thought the coffee grounds were a particularly interesting flavor. This rub acted as a blackening spice, and I grilled the salmon and flaked it.


It was spicy and delicious! Instead of the tomatillo salsa listed with the recipe, I made a papaya salsa suggested in our fruit-of-the-month box of Harry & David's sunrise papayas.

Papaya salsa

The salsa came with our three papayas, and I was thankful because I don't really know what to do with papayas besides put them into smoothies. The recipe included the following items:

• 1 small papaya, peeled and seeded
• 3 small, thin carrots
• 4 scallions (or some red onion)
• 2 limes
• 1 lemon
• Green Tabasco sauce (I used a fire-roasted salsa I had on hand)
  
• 2 tsp. olive oil
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/8 cup mint leaves, coarsely chopped

You dice the first three ingredients, then you remove the peel and pith from one lime and the lemon, cutting out slices and adding to the salsa. You juice the second lime, then mix the Tabasco sauce (or other salsa), olive oil, salt, and mint leaves. Then you toss it all together.


I have to say, this was pretty awesome with the salmon. It was sweet, but the red onion gave a great bite to the salsa. I think I actually liked the look and taste of the red onion better than I would have liked scallions. And it's a great way to use mint, too!

Lime curd tart

This was the real showpiece of the evening. I have never made lime curd, but I have made tarts before, and I know I never met a tart I didn't like.

First you make the tart shell, which is easy, delicious, and buttery. I've made this before for berry tarts and quiche.


God, I love those little tart pans.

You let the tart shells cool, which I did overnight. Then you whip up the lime curd. You need lots of lime zest, lime juice, sugar, eggs, and butter. That's it - and it sounds pretty amazing. When you mix it together, it looks very clumpy, but then you heat it up.


Some foamy stuff, I'm guessing the butter, rises to the top, but it all comes together and thickens after a few minutes of cooking and stirring. Ina says you need to heat this up to 175 degrees for it to thicken, but I think that is a typo - either that, or my thermometer isn't working. It's more like 145 degrees.

Then you pour the lime-flecked curd into the shells and allow to cool. I got home and sliced some strawberries on top.


Gah! These were so good. They were definitely tart, but you got a really good, natural lime taste. And I cannot recommend the strawberries strongly enough - the sweetness really cut through the tart in a very pleasant way. My taste buds are acting up just thinking about it.

Anyway, it was a great success, but I think I need to eat a piece of cheese to settle the pH level in my mouth right now. What a great way to celebrate limes coming back into season!