Raise your hand if you love lima beans! ... Anyone? It may seem cruel to write about limas during Back to School (Work) Week when so many kids – and adults – seem to have an aversion to them, but we're firmly in the love 'em camp. Plus, they're in season right now at many farmers' markets. Have you ever tried them fresh?
Fresh lima beans (or butter beans, as they are also known) are nutty, sweet, and definitely worth keeping an eye out for – though we happily use frozen ones, too. Dressed with a tangy cumin-mint dressing, they make a quick yet full-flavored weeknight side dish or lunch protein.
Lima Beans With Cumin-Mint Dressing
Serves 2-4
1/2 pound shelled fresh lima beans (can substitute frozen)
1 tablespoon plain yogurt
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds, toasted and ground
1 small clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons chopped mint
Salt, to taste
Mint leaves for garnish (optional)
Have ready an ice bath. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the lima beans and cook until tender, about 8-10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the lima beans to the bowl of ice water.
In a large bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients. Drain the lima beans and pat dry. Add them to the bowl of dressing and toss.
Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve. Garnish with mint leaves before serving.
Related: Side Dish Recipe: Greek-Style Lima Beans
(Images: Emily Ho)
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Raising hand like Horshack. I love lima beans. I've had a love/hate relationship with them this year. I decided to grow a variety of bush beans. When they started to come in I tastes what I thought were roma beans and then spit them out, loudly cursing them for growing and chastising myself for having grown such bitter and astringent beans. Then, as I was going through my seeds, I realized that what I had grown were not Roma beans, they were lima beans. From that point on I have been eating the bean inside of the pod and not the entire pod. And I have been happy. And I'm going to apply this recipe to their buttery goodness.
Firmly in the love 'em camp here:D I usually buy frozen though, since my fiance won't eat them I don't go through them very quickly.
Cumin is my favorite spice in the world too, so I guess I'm pretty much obligated to try this!
I love limas! I'll have to give this recipe a try.
Love, love, love Lima beans.
hmmmm, don't honestly know? I remember when I was little I thought they were little flour-y packets of yuck, but hey- I like lots of things now.....sauerkraut, mustard, squash.....will have to give these guys another look.
Fresh limas are wonderful and in season right now in California. Food & Wine has a wonderful recipe for Lima Bean Puree from Suzanne Goin. Delicious.