Lima Beans, anyone?

[msphoebe]

In the mood for lima beans. Have some in the freezer.

Having sauteed scallops with a lemon vinaigrette for dinner tonite. Looking for ideas to make a salad or side dish (rather than just steamed with butter, s&p).

Have fresh corn, cucumbers, tomatoes from the farmer's market this morning but drawing a blank on the limas.

thanks to all for suggestions

[Maison Rustique]

I'll be living vicariously through this thread. I adore limas but am the only person in my family who does. Even mixed with something, they will not be touched by my husband.

[Majra]

I like to cook limas together with rice and onions and handfuls of fresh dill.

[snowangel]

Try this recipe. They won't know they are eating lima beans!

Another option that I really like is the old fashioned four bean salad. VERY heavy on the limas, and very light on the sweet sour component so the beans really shine.

[bandregg]

I use butter beans, which often confused with baby limas, in succotash to great affect. Boil the beans for about 20 minutes, saute onion and garlic, drain the beans and put in the saute pan along with some corn and tomatoes. Goodness.

[nessa]

I just picked up my second batch of speckled butter beans/lima beans from the farmer's market. As its hitting the triple digets here, I'm opting for a lima bean salad.

Last week I cooked them, chilled them, and dressed them with olive oil, S&P, chives and dill. Thats a new favorite for me, so this week I'm doing the same except adding some roasted asparagus and carrots to the salad.

[msphoebe]

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone. I think the succotash and the idea of using the limas in a mixed bean salad are what I'm looking for. Doesn't seem to be a very popular food, these limas!

One of the cookbooks in my personal library is "The Bean Bible" by Aliza Green. It contains a recipe for "Trio of Savory Beans" that I'm going to try. Basically cranberry beans (which I could/might sub cannellini beans), fresh green beans, and lima beans, sauteed in olive oil, shallots, and savory. I love savory so these sound great.

The other half of my limas will go into a succotash -- with fresh corn (cut off the cob) and tomatoes, for another meal.

[jdtofbna]

I know I'm a little late, but thought I'd post this anyway. I adore limas and I honestly think I could eat succotash just about every day. I just made a batch with the sweetest corn I've tasted all summer. I know people have an aversion to okra that's worse than that to limas, but I always put okra in my succotash. I cook the limas separately in some salted water with a sliced garlic clove. In a separate skillet, I saute the okra quickly in a little butter and olive oil, add a chopped fresh tomato, let that simmer just a little, add the corn and dump in the cooked limas. oooh, tasty tasty. Sometimes I get really weird and add some Indian or Mexican seasoning to it.

[msphoebe]

It's never too late to share a good recipe!

Okra...the only times I've ever experienced okra...once had it pickled as a garnish for a bloody mary (yum)...and once sasw it being cooked in a skillet in Jr. High School Home Ec class. The lady from the Gas Service Company came to do a demo "cooking with gas". Why oh why she picked okra I'll never know. It was indeed slimy...I don't think any one of us was brave enough to try it.

What other veggies emit this slime when cooked? It's a very strange thing...

[cliveb]

In the mood for lima beans.  Have some in the freezer.

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Poach the beans in boiling water until just tender. Do not add salt.

Cube some exquisite ham .

Chop a good amount of fresh parsley, and add a few fresh thyme leaves.

Mince 3 or 4 cloves of garlic.

Finely dice a small red onion.

Mix all these ingredients in a large bowl, together with sea salt, fresh ground black pepper and how ever much you like of GOOD extra virgin olive oil.

The recipe is Spanish, but I can't find the original!

[Pontormo]

Conduct a search on fava beans and adapt a few Italian dishes. The Italian forum's regional threads on the cooking of Liguria and Lazio are good places to start. In the former (the land of pesto), fava beans are used to make a wonderful pureed sauce that Chufi photographs here.

Make spaghetti with pancetta or bacon and toss with fresh corn and limas. While cream's not appropriate in carbonara, it sure might be good here with a bit of tarragon...unless you use cherry tomatoes instead.

Then, in the Lazio thread, look for Roman dishes that incorporate fava beans such as a springtime stew of potatoes, peas and artichokes. Follow same general principles, but again, make it a local, summer thing.

[msphoebe]

Yes, yes, yes! Just what I'm looking for. What is a good ham to use in a dish like yours, clive? I guess any "good" ham would do...the dish sounds wonderful.

And, oh my, Italian? Never thought to look for ideas in my Marcella Hazan cookbook. Now I don't need to! The dish sounds fabulous and right along the lines of something I'd love, Pontormo. I'll make it a point to peruse the Italian forums here at eG.

Thanks to all for the great ideas. I'm going to have a great time trying all these dishes, and believe me, I will be trying them all!

P.S. The Trio of Savory Beans was great. I subbed a can of Cannellini beans for the cranberry beans, because we have hard water here in my little suburb, and I attempted to cook the dried beans using a pinch of baking soda. The beans cooked but turned to mush -- the texture of refried beans -- to which I added minced garlic, salt, and a bit of olive oil. Enjoyed with some freshly fried corn tortillas, salsa, avocado, and a teensy bit of sour cream.

Six years living here and still can't cook beans from dried. But I'll keep trying!

[phlawless]

Another idea: cook with stock and plenty of garlic, red pepper flake and a bay leaf till soft, drain and puree with a bit of good olive oil. Add lemon zest to taste. Allow to cool and spread on toast-yum!

p.s. I'm a phoebe too..

[maggiethecat]

What terrific recipe ideas for a bean that gagged me as a child. Now I love them, but my mother loves them even more. After being unable to serve limas for fifteen years because of the ruckus her kids kicked up when they appeared on the dinnertable, she discovered that a new neighbor was in the same culinary boat. She and the lady next door formed a Lima Bean Club: they'd cook up a mess o' limas midafternoon and sit on the porch eating as many as they desired.

Come to think of it, I'm sending Mummy this thead. She thanks you too!

[Torrilin]

Six years living here and still can't cook beans from dried.  But I'll keep trying!

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Start with lentils or split peas. They don't need to be soaked, and even at their most ancient and dried out should cook through within 4 hours. That gets you practice working with dried legumes. Gradually, you'll learn how to tell when your lentils or peas are fresh and when they're ancient and dried out. Then you can start branching out into other dried beans which mostly (unless you get *very* fresh beans) take around 4 or more hours to cook. Sometimes lots more. The hard part with the longer cooking dried beans is that it's a slow, patient process, and it's hard to learn the right balance of hands off and fussing.

Emily

[petite tête de chou]

A couple more ideas...

Lima bean and winter squash (or sweet potato) soup with a Carribean flavor. Simmer peeled cubes of winter squash in chicken broth, water and white wine with a bit of chopped onion, leeks, celery, a couple cloves of garlic, a bouquet garni (bay, thyme, parsley, marjoram), a bit of honey and dash of cinnamon. When the squash or sweet potatoes are nearly done add your pre-cooked limas and s/p. Simmer until squash is fork tender. A cup or so of cream could be added along with the limas if a richer soup is preferred but I like it without. That way, I can eat more.

Also, most mashed beans make good fritters. I like them with a spicy dipping sauce and yogurt. And a beer.

[Andi Pena Longmeadow Farm]

Have fresh corn, cucumbers, tomatoes from the farmer's market this morning but drawing a blank on the limas.

I know, I know.......darn limas are not quite "in" yet on the farm. So many veggies are slow this year. (cept zukes)

But pulling limas off our large T shaped, strung up poles, is one of the special gifts of this world!

As far as a recipe, well - I can't get past boil/steam, dump in bowl, add S&P, and good dose of butter.

Mix and add fork.