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Mediterranean Lima Beans

By Chef Linda

If cooking from the pantry is your thing–either by desire or necessity–this recipe is one to try. If the recipe sounds familiar, it's because it might remind you of Greek Gigante beans. Both dishes use large, broad beans and both use the simplicity of a tomato sauce flavored with onions and garlic. Where the recipe differs is with the addition of diced carrots and with the final cooking method: this recipe is finished in a pan whereas the Greek version gets baked off in the oven. Either way, you end up with a very thick, luscious tomato sauce that envelopes and clings to the beans rather than drowning them.

Depending on where you live, you might call your beans lima beans or butter beans–no worry, they are one in the same bean. And although lima beans can be eaten in both their immature stage (when they are fresh and green) as well as their mature stage (when they are beige and dried), you'll want the mature, dried beans for this recipe. Plan ahead and soak your beans for several hours or overnight and then, if time allows, cook them in advance so that all you'll need to do to get this dish on the table is to make the simple tomato sauce and simmer it ith the beans. And taste aside, beans are an important source of iron. Preparing the beans with tomatoes, which contain vitamin C, makes the iron easier to absorb giving us even more reasons to love this dish.

Use whatever might be left the next day as a chunky topping for a thick, crusty piece of bread and you'll be glad you made this recipe.

Mediterranean Lima Beans

YIELDS
Serves 6 to 8 as a main dish, more as a side dish

INGREDIENTS

 1 lb dried lima beans (the largest size available), soaked overnight or for about 8 hours

 2 tbsp olive oilto cook without oil, sauté onions in a little water

 1 medium onion, chopped, about 1 cup

 3 large garlic cloves, minced or thinly sliced, about 1 1/2 tablespoons

 1 tsp salt

 2 to 3 large carrots, peeled and finely diced, about 1 1/2 cups

 28 oz of canned crushed tomatoes

 2 tsp dried oregano

 2 tbsp fresh lemon juiceuse less if you prefer

 Plain, unsweetened, vegan yogurt, for garnish

 Chopped parsley, for garnish

DIRECTIONS

1

Drain and rinse the beans. Place them in a pot of well-salted water, covered by several inches of the water, and simmer for about 40 minutes to an hour. When done, the beans should be tender but not mushy. Make sure you boil them enough otherwise the beans will be too hard to eat even after baking.


Meanwhile, prepare the sauce. Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, and salt, and cook for about 10 minutes, while stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender.

Add the garlic and cook for another minute or two then stir in the tomatoes and oregano.


Once the beans are done, drain them, reserving the cooking water. Transfer the beans to the pan with the tomato sauce and let everything simmer for about 20 minutes. Check the sauce occasionally, if it seems to dry, add a ladle of the reserved cooking water. 
The beans are done when the tomato sauce has thickened considerably and the beans are soft and buttery.

Serve with a dollop of vegan sour cream and garnish with parsley.

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CategoryAdd Love + Stir, Fall, Gluten Free, Main Courses, Nut Free, Peanut Free, Sides, Soy Free, Spring, WinterCuisineGreek, Mediterranean

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