Remember the book Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day? Alexander has already endured several assaults on his patience and then, to top it all off, "there were lima beans for dinner and kissing on TV." Lima beans are the de facto "ew" vegetable; we're convinced people refuse them solely on reputation. We happen to adore them, but we have a family member who claims they taste like soap. What about you?
Lima beans are something we rarely see sold fresh. And we don't buy them dried, either. We prefer frozen ones, which we boil with chicken broth or water until they are very soft and have absorbed most of the liquid. These are not beans that should be served al dente, and, like most beans, they need a lot of salt.
We like ours cooked with bacon or ham, and we love mushy lima beans mixed with brown rice for a vegetarian dinner. They are very filling, comforting, and easy to make.
A few recipes we'd like to try:
- Pasta with Butternut Squash and Lima Beans, from Bon Appétit
- Greek-Style Lima Beans, from Gourmet
- Sausages with Lima Beans, from Cookstr
- Baby Lima Soup with Chipotle Broth, from 101 Cookbooks
How do you cook lima beans?
Related: Tip: How to Use Frozen Edamame
(Image: I Love Lima Beans button, $5.24 at Cafe Press)
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Comments (21)
I usually just buy them frozen in a bag. I boil them for a few minutes, drain them and then add a bit of olive oil, s&p and bohnenkraut (an herb I purchased while living in Germany that's very similar Thyme). But that's it! I just had it the other night.
The Germans make them with heavy cream and bacon - and who can blame them? Everyone knows that everything's better with bacon. =)
You should look into the book "A Bad Case of the Stripes," by David Shannon. It's about a little girl who begins morphing into all sorts of things when she is embarassed to admit she loves lima beans.
not LOVE but I like 'em. I recently discovered 'Christmas' Limas which I thought were lovely and picked up a bag. I added them into Israeli Couscous with Chard
http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/pasta/recipe-israeli-couscous-with-chard-033651
was very delish :)
Lima beans = nasty
I ask this question seriously: what's the point of lima beans? My siblings and I hated them as kids but my mom insisted on serving them. I thought they must be some kind of superfood, but they're not high in any one vitamin or protein-rich or anything like that. Why eat them?
One cup of cooked lima beans provides 13 grams of fiber, that's 52.6% of the DV. Lima beans are good sources of folate, protein, potassium, iron, copper, phosphorus, magnesium and thiamin.
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=59#nutritionalprofile
Dislike. It's more a texture issue than a taste issue. They always make me feel like I'm eating a plate full of antacid tablets.
I've always liked them. We eat them just like we do edamame - boiled and then topped with really good sea salt.
I was at a function last night and the hostess served a lima bean dip. I was delicious and a hit, though if you'd done a straw poll beforehand I'm sure 90% of the attendants would have said they hate lima beans. My grandmother's over done boiled beans? Blech (sorry Gram!), but this dip? Yum!
Love em with tons of butter and pepper.
If there were an "extreme loathing" choice in the survey I would have chosen that.
These little bits o' Satan are barely one notch above Durian - at least they don't stink.
When I make crab soup, lima beans are my second favorite ingredient, after crab itself. The beans absorb the flavors of the broth and take on a silky texture. Delicious!
Love lima beans--with garlic, lemon, and olive oil!
Whenever I used to have them, I thought they were just okay. Not disgusting, not something I'd seek out.
Now, though, whenever my mother-in-law makes them, I'm eager to eat. She's a wonderful cook and can make the simplest things taste like a food for the gods. Lentils, chickpeas, lima beans, potatoes, peas, or cabbage. Cream of wheat. With just a few ingredients, and her magic touch. I don't know how she does it. She's given me a couple lessons, and when I've made the same recipes, they've usually turned out tasty, but they're also always missing a little something.
No!...and you can't make me.
How are limas different from butterbeans? Cause I'm totally anti the first and all about the second.
Oy, I'd rather have edamame. Or peas. Or sugar peas or snap peas or any other kind of bean! The taste is so-so, but I don't enjoy the texture at all, no matter how many different preparations I've tried. It's one of the very few foods I don't enjoy.
I especially love fresh lima beans which I can get for just a couple of weeks in the summer at the farmers' market. I eagerly await their appearance.
So please help me here, I'm pretty sure that lima beans here are the same as broad beans in the uk? My dad insisted on growing them and freezing them, I think I've only had them frozen and they are awful.
one word. prebranac. the best way to have lima beans ever.
www.lulieloveslimabeans.com
Lulie Loves Lima Beans and so do I!