In Praise of Butter Beans

If you were to stop by a true southerners home at mealtime this time of year, chances are great that you would find lima beans, better known to us as 'butter beans', gracing the table. Along with the 'butter beans' there's usually fresh sliced tomatoes (or maybe fried green tomatoes), yellow squash, sliced cucumbers, cantaloupe, fried eggplant, corn on the cob, fried okra, cornbread made from scratch with real butter and, of course, sweet iced tea. 'Round here, meat or fish is optional in the summer and even the greatest carnivores can attest to the fact that it just ain't necessary when all the wonderful summer garden vegetables are abundant.

Some folks, believe it or not, have been known to turn their noses up at lima beans. Maybe it's because they fall under the 'green category,' I don't know. But, you owe it to yourself to sample these delectable little morsels before making such a hasty decision.

The best lima beans, hands down, are those fresh from the garden to the table, and in some parts of the south-- especially Texas--they're plentiful now. But, if you aren't blessed by having a garden (or a wonderful friend with one), you can buy them frozen or dried. And they’re very versatile—for instance, you can boil them with a ham hock, fry them with sausage and peppers, puree them into a hummus, throw them into a vegetable soup, sprinkle them into a salad, or bake them with molasses and mustard. And while the bean by itself is sort of unrewarding, this quality is what makes it such a marvelous vehicle for other flavors.

So, in honor of summer and my wonderful 'God-blessed' garden, I offer you my recipe for lima beans with garlic, rosemary and bacon. Trust me, even if you think you don’t like limas, try these creamy, bacony beans and you just may change your mind. And if you’re still not convinced, think of them as butter beans because really, how could anything with the word butter in it taste bad?

Lima beans with Bacon

3 cups of fresh baby lima beans removed from the pod or 3 cups of frozen baby lima beans (1 16 oz. bag)

6 slices of bacon

1 sprig of fresh rosemary

1 tablespoon of fresh basil, chopped

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 teaspoon of lemon zest

Salt and pepper to taste

Fry the bacon in a skillet until all the fat is rendered, remove from skillet and crumble. Leave two tablespoons of bacon grease in the skillet.Add lima beans, garlic, half the crumbled bacon, basil, rosemary, salt, pepper and 1/2 cup of water to skillet and bring to a boil.Turn heat down to low and then simmer the beans (stirring occasionally), covered, for 20 minutes until beans are tender. (For soupier beans, just add more water.) When the beans are done, top with remaining crumbled bacon and lemon zest.