Lima beans?! Yes, stay with me…I’ve never met a bean I didn’t like, but I am aware that lima beans are polarizing and often reviled by those with a more discerning palate. I gotta say though, this dish I cobbled together last night was really good!
I wanted to make hummus for the kids, but didn’t have garbanzos in my pantry and was too lazy to look further in my alternate stash. So I went with the dusty bag of dried lima beans. Cooked them for several hours in the crock-pot with a bay leaf.
When the beans were done, I realized I’d have way too much for hummus (I wrote that one up too) so started researching other recipe ideas. Perhaps unsurprisingly, there’s not a lot of love for lima beans in internet recipe land! But persistence paid off when I came across a Cypriot (as in from Cyprus) dish involving lemon and garlic, sold!
In a sauté pan I sweated some white onion in olive oil. Once soft, I added lots of garlic for a quick minute then the prepared limas and some of their cooking liquid. Simmered everything until fragrant, then bumped the heat up and added some chicken broth, lemon zest, lemon juice and salt and pepper. Cooked until all was warm and creamy dreamy stew. Finished with parsley and chives snipped from the yard.
We ate them served over some basmati rice with hot sauce (of course). Incredibly nourishing and satisfying, like most beans and rice dishes are. The next morning I had them smeared on a piece of good quality, crusty sourdough toast with a sprinkle of tangy feta, dash of hot sauce and some red onions pickled in red wine vinegar and grenadine ala Bobby Flay. Heavenly savory breakfast.
Lemon lima beans, who’d have thought you’d be so darn tasty?
