I couldn’t help it. I let out a squeal when I saw limas at the market on Saturday. In fact, it might have been more of a yell. It just felt like I’d been waiting forever for them! I’m always so excited to try new recipes that there are very few repeat performances at our house. This recipe, however, gets a workout every summer. I’ve never had them cooked any better than this. I use fresh limas and skip the soaking. They need a little bit less water than the dried, maybe about 1 3/4 cup instead of 2 cups.
Country Lima Beans
Serves 8
2 cups dried lima beans (about 1 pound)
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
3 bacon slices, chopped
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup finely chopped carrot
2 cups water
2 tbsp. butter, softened
Sort and wash beans; place in a large Dutch oven. Cover with water to 2 inches above beans; cover and let stand 8 hours or overnight. Drain the beans. Return beans to pan; stir in salt and pepper. Preheat oven to 300ºF. Cook bacon slices in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan with slotted spoon; set aside. Add onion and carrot to drippings in pan and sauté 5 minutes or until golden. Add onion mixture, bacon, water, and butter to bean mixture in Dutch oven; stir well. Cover and bake for 2 ½ hours or until beans are tender, stirring every hour.
From Cooking Light
