By Aaron Hutcherson
The Washington Post
Though plenty of us love lima beans, there seems to be an equally ardent contingent of haters, with few people in the middle. Those in the anti-lima camp tend to cite texture as the main reason for their disdain, recalling chalky legumes that reminded them of cardboard.
“I have had plenty of lima beans that are not seasoned well or not cooked well,” chef and food writer Amethyst Ganaway said in a video call. “It’s just absolutely terrible.” Though I, too, have had the displeasure of encountering such specimens, they are not representative of the entire category of beans.
Tastewise, limas are often described as buttery, which makes sense given their other moniker: butter beans. “What’s interesting to me about this is that along with chickpeas, limas are some of the least beany tasting of beans, with a flavor that fans describe as nutty and sweet,” food writer Emily Horton wrote in The Washington Post. “But overcook them, and they can turn bitter and sulfurous, not unlike other oft-maligned foods, such as Brussels sprouts and broccoli.”
According to Jenna Smith, nutrition and wellness educator at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the two main varieties are baby limas and Fordhook. “Both are pale green and kidney-shaped, but Fordhooks are slightly larger and a bit starchier, but fuller flavored,” Smith wrote.
In North Charleston, S.C., where Ganaway is from (and lives), lima beans are a staple: “Everybody’s grandma is known for making a pot,” she said. And for her, “lima beans and butter beans are not necessarily interchangeable”: The former refers to the larger white beans, and the latter refers to the green baby beans.
Ganaway always keeps in her pantry a bag of dried large white lima beans, which she loves to soak overnight before cooking them down with smoked meat until tender and super creamy to enjoy over a scoop of rice with a few dashes of hot sauce. Cooking dried beans in this way can transform their starch from chalky to creamy. “That’s just the most comforting thing.” She also likes to use them cold in salads or pureed into a hummus-like dip. The green limas, often purchased fresh or frozen — which cook in a matter of minutes instead of an hour or more for dried beans — are what Ganaway says are typically used in soups, stews or “if you want to make a succotash or something like that.”
Even though I adore eating them, I couldn’t the last time I’d cooked lima beans, but, on a whim, I purchased a bag of the frozen green baby beans some months ago. As a slight chill starts to enter the air, I wanted to share a cozy soup recipe to wish summer farewell and welcome fall. I immediately knew that I wanted to put that bag tucked away in my freezer to good use.
This soup starts with sauteing smoky andouille sausage and sweet yellow onion in a pot with a few spices. Next go in sweet kernels of corn, the buttery beans — no need to defrost — and fragrant slices of garlic before you add chicken stock or broth to simmer the beans in until tender. At the end, lemon zest and juice and fresh parsley leaves brighten each bowl, resulting in a soup that’s full of flavor and texture.
To all the naysayers out there, I say to give lima beans a(nother) chance. “Lima beans are great,” Ganaway said. “I’m always a firm believer [that] if you’ve had something you didn’t like, you probably just haven’t had it cooked in a way that you would like it.” And this soup is an excellent place to start.
Corn and Lima Bean Soup With Andouille
This shoulder-season soup features sweet corn, buttery baby lima beans and smoky andouille sausage. (Use frozen or canned produce to enjoy it year-round.) Lemon zest and juice, alongside fresh parsley added at the end, brighten the soup and make it shine.
Makes 4 servings (about 6 cups)
INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
12 ounces andouille sausage, diced
1 medium yellow onion (8 ounces), diced
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
1/4 teaspoon fine salt, plus more to taste
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Kernels from 2 ears of corn (about 2 cups)
One (12-ounce) bag frozen baby lima beans (2 cups; no need to defrost)
4 garlic cloves, sliced
4 cups chicken stock or broth, preferably no-salt-added or low-sodium
Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
Chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, for serving
DIRECTIONS
1: In a large pot over medium-high heat, heat the oil until shimmering. Add the sausage, onion, thyme, black pepper, salt and crushed red pepper flakes and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions start to soften and turn translucent, about 5 minutes.
2: Add the corn, beans and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until the garlic is fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes.
3: Add the chicken stock or broth, bring to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally and adjusting the heat as needed to maintain a moderate simmer, until the beans are tender, 7 to 12 minutes. Remove from the heat, and stir in the lemon zest and juice. Taste, and season with salt and pepper, as desired. Ladle into bowls, garnish with parsley and serve.
Substitutions:
• For andouille, you can use another smoked sausage, such as kielbasa or chorizo.
• Instead of frozen lima beans, you can use canned or home-cooked lima beans, or white beans.
• Vegetarian or vegan? Use a plant-based sausage, and vegetable stock or broth.
• Instead of fresh corn, you can use frozen or canned.
Storage note: Refrigerate for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 3 months.
Recipe from Aaron Hutcherson.
