Luna Loves Lima Beans
Perhaps it was Camilla Cream, the main character from the book A Bad Case of Stripes, or perhaps it was just my curiosity. Whichever the inspiration as I was strolling down the bean aisle of the grocery store I picked up a bag of Lima Beans. After unpacking the groceries I must admit the beans were quickly forgotten. What with it being Sunday and most of the food in the house gone from a week of meals, the pantry was uncluttered and as I glanced down with the proverbial nightly question “What’s for dinner,” there they were, uncovered at last from the mounds of other more appealing looking beans, grains and pastas. My suspicion was that they would make a healthy meal, if only I could figure out what to do with them.
As I read the package directions I realized they would take a bit of prep and a long time to cook. Little did I know how long! Though I soaked the beans overnight more than 16 hours, they still were not tender after one and a half hours simmering on the stove. I ended up cooking them about 5 hours (even after all that soaking)! Meantime my friend and chef Hannah came over (to bake some bread and rugula, but that’s another blog entry) and suggested that I add some thyme and a bay leaf to the onion, celery and carrot saute that I was already planning. In the end all of that plus about 2 cups of a nice Savingon Blanc, 3 cups of chicken stock and plenty of water finally yielded a nice tender bean which, along with the overall vegetable saute made a nice complement to the sushi rice I whipped up in my rice cooker. Overall it was a fine dish, the lima beans were tasty but the one who liked the beans best was Luna, our Bearded Collie. As long as someone really enjoys my cooking I feel accomplished!
Enjoy!
Luna’s Lima Beans
2 tbs of olive oil
1 yellow onion – diced
3 stalked of celery – diced
3 carrots – peeled and diced
3/4 pound of cooked lima beans
2 tsp dried thyme
1 bay leaf
2 cups white wine
3 cups chicken or vegetable stock
plenty of water
salt and pepper to taste
In a large pot, soak Lima beans overnight. Drain and rinse the beans several times and place in a large pot with and cover with water. Bring to a boil, turn down heat and add the bay leaf and pinch of salt. As water evaporates add the wine and additional water to replenish. Continue to simmer for 4 – 5 hours until really tender. Drain and rinse again and set aside.
Heat the oil in a large skillet and add the onions, celery and carrots and cook about 10 minutes until soft. Add the Lima Beans, the thyme, salt and pepper and cook about 15 minutes more over low heat stirring to combine the flavors. Serve with rice.