VeganMoFo 17: Whole Dried Limes = Actual Amazeballs

Today's Spice: Whole Dried Persian Limes

(alias White Limes, Persian Lemons, Omani limes, Limu Omani)

Do you remember earlier in MoFo when I made some rice polow with powdered dried Persian limes? Well, I've also got two bags of whole dried limes in my spice drawer. I'm not even sure how on earth I ended up with two bags. The thing is - these guys take up some serious space. They are sort of the size of small ping pong balls. And I haven't had any idea what to do with them. Thank goodness for my MoFo theme!

We were having my parents over for dinner, and I wanted to make them something yummy... so I was scouring the depths of the internet for Dried Lime recipes. Happily I stumbled upon this really wonderful and insightful article about these dried limes and how they are made. My favorite line is when the author describes them as having a "deep layer of culinary funk."

From the same article, I made this Lentil Salad with Dried Lime, which we all absolutely loved. I made a double recipe - and used two limes in the water with the lentils - which I think I was just right for four of us. Somehow cooking the lentils with the dried limes just zaps all the boring dullness out of them. I love lentils as much as the next vegan, but you know what I'm talking about. The salad was light and simple, but very yummy.

I also made the Dried Lime Tea, which was totally great - a big hit with everyone. It's not really tea, it's just dried limes boiled in water, with some sugar added. It's limey, but somehow evocative of much more. And so easy. I even enjoyed adding it to some sparkly water. Next time I make it, I'll cut back the sugar a bit because I don't think it needed to be quite so sweet. I'm so happy I found a quick, easy, and delicious way to use up all my dried limes (though I'm sure now I will just want to buy more!)