I grew up hating lima beans. My mom used to make them sometimes for dinner, and I would dread the thought of dinner. The smell of the beans cooking was unappealing to me as a kid. Fast forward to now, and I can tell you I’m a lima bean convert.
I have a couple of recipes in my cookbook, Peruvegan, which utilize lima beans. Interestingly, the lima beans in Peru are two to three times the size of those you can find in the United States. When cooked and pureed, lima beans are deliciously buttery and creamy.
The recipe I’m including in this post (Ensalada de Pallares) uses the frozen variety of baby lima beans. Frozen baby lima beans have a different flavor…reminiscent of edamame. You can find frozen baby lima beans in many groceries stores, and they are green in color instead of tan, like the dried lima bean. Ensalada de Pallaraes is a salad made of lima beans, tomatoes and onions, topped with cilantro and a creamy dressing. Ensalada de Pallares can be served cold or at room temperature. It’s an extremely pretty dish, comes together very fast, and is a nice first course for company.
ENSALADA DE PALLARES
Ingredients:
1 16 oz. package of frozen baby lima beans
1 onion, diced
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon aji amarillo paste
1 teaspoon oregano
1 ½ teaspoons salt
Cilantro for garnish, chopped
Ingredients For Dressing:
½ cup reserved lima beans
½ cup Vegan Garlic Aioli (see page 12)
½ cup cilantro, chopped
½ cup soy milk
½ teaspoon salt
Directions:
Place frozen lima beans in a soup pot and add ½ cup of water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook until tender, approximately 15 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside. Allow to cool to room temperature.
In large fry pan over medium heat, cook onion in olive oil until translucent. Add tomatoes, aji amarillo paste, oregano and salt. Cook for an additional two minutes. Remove from heat. Add all but ½ cup of the lima beans to the tomato mixture and stir. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Place all dressing ingredients in a blender and combine.
Plate the bean, tomato and onion mixture. Drizzle the dressing over the top. Garnish with extra chopped cilantro.
Serves 4
No Comments