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Key Lime Grits Pie

I had just taken a grits pie out of the oven when a friend walked in. A piece was immediately shoved in his face and I asked, "What kind of pie is this?"

After he'd made a couple of wrong guesses, I finally confessed to him that he was enjoying a grits pie. His face lit up, and he said, "You know what I think, Paula? I think this would make a wonderful Key lime pie."

"You know, J.R.," I said, "you just might be right." So back to the stove I went. If I say so myself, the results are pretty good.

1 unbaked deep-dish 9-inch pie shell
1 cup water
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup quick-cooking grits
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 egg yolks, slightly beaten
1/4 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup fresh Key lime juice (use bottled if fresh limes are unavailable)

MERINGUE
3 egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
6 tablespoons sugar

Prepare your crust and set aside.

Preheat oven to 325°F.

In a small saucepan, bring water and salt to a boil. Add grits and cook for 4 minutes. It's not especially easy to cook such a small amount of grits, so this will require your constant attention. Stir almost entire time that the grits are cooking. Add butter and continue to cook and stir for an additional minute. Set aside.

In a bowl, stir together sugar, flour, egg yolks, buttermilk, and Key lime juice. Stir into cooked grits. Pour into pie shell and bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until set. Remove pie from oven.

Prepare meringue by beating egg whites and cream of tartar together until frothy. Continue to beat until soft peaks form. Slowly add sugar and beat until stiff but not dry. Spread over top of pie, sealing edges well. (Meringue should touch the edges of crust. Meringue can shrink up and come loose from crust if it is not sealed well.) Increase oven temperature to 350°F and bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until meringue is a golden brown. This pie is delicious warm or cold.

Serves 6 to 8

Copyright © 2002 by Paula H. Deen