Succotash

When there are organic fresh lima beans at the farmers’ market there is probably going to be succotash at our house. I love fresh lima beans but I really dislike shelling the beans. Two quarts of lima beans in their pods yielded a whopping two cups of beans and took almost 90 minutes to peel. Like I said, I love fresh limas but they are a bit of work.

The rosemary and cayenne were last minute additions. Since the succotash was a little sweet I added the cayenne to balance the flavors. Rosemary was included for no reason other than I love it and it is easy to grab from the garden. This is the first time I added rosemary to succotash, but it won’t be the last. We really liked the corn and rosemary combination.

Succotash
Serves 6

Ingredients:

½ tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
½ red onion, finely minced
4 cloves of garlic, finely minced
¾ cup of almond milk
2 cups of fresh lima beans
5 ears of corn, kernels removed (I used silver queen)
1 roasted red pepper, finely minced
1 teaspoon of fresh rosemary, finely minced
1 pinch of cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon of kosher salt
¼ teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Sauté the red onion and garlic in olive oil until the onion is translucent. Add the remaining ingredients and cook for 5 minutes.

Serve hot.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 219.63
Calories From Fat (14%) - 30.24

Total Fat - 3.45g
Saturated Fat - 0.41g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 579.93mg
Potassium - 644.57mg
Total Carbohydrates - 41.8g
Fiber - 9.16g
Sugar - 5.93g
Protein - 9.08g

Comments:

Succotash is something that I like to make when I have fresh lima beans and corn. By sautéing the onion, adding the roasted red pepper, increasing the corn and using almond milk this succotash is sweeter than most. I added the cayenne and rosemary to add a little depth of flavor. This is a nice combination that everyone enjoyed this evening (including the carnivores).

Fresh Lima Bean Soup with Lemon and Mint

This soup is a combination of a fresh pea soup we learned in cooking class a few weeks ago and a cooked fava bean soup that was posted here on the blog SmarterFitter.

My husband isn’t crazy about mint so I try to keep my mint use to a minimum when he is eating. I on the other hand love mint, and we have a boatload of it our garden. However, even with my love of mint you want to keep the mint level down in this soup. I started with one mint leaf in the soup expecting to add more, one at a time. More mint would not add to the flavor or this soup. I wanted a subtle kiss of mint, and that is what you get from one leaf.

Oh well, looks like I will need to make more mojitos instead. Just kidding, really I am. ;)

Fresh Lima Bean Soup with Lemon and Mint
Serves 1

Ingredient:

1 cup of very fresh shelled lima beans (frozen would be fine here)
1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice
¾ cup of water
½ teaspoon of basil salt
¼ teaspoon of freshly ground pepper
1 fresh mint leaf
¼ teaspoon of lemon zest, for garnish – optional
1 small mint top, for garnish – optional

Directions:

Place the lima beans, lemon juice, water, basil salt and mint leaf in your blender. Puree until the soup is completely smooth. Chill until ready to serve.

To serve, grate a little fresh lemon zest and black pepper on top. Garnish with a mint sprig if desired.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 325.75
Calories From Fat (3%) - 9.05

Total Fat - 1.08g
Saturated Fat - 0.25g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 1160.35mg
Potassium - 973.82mg
Total Carbohydrates - 61.83g
Fiber - 18.3g
Sugar - 4.56g
Protein - 19g

Comments:

This soup is cool and refreshing with a light taste of mint and lemon. I would only make this with fresh picked lima beans or frozen lima beans. Old beans would make this soup starchy, which wouldn’t be nearly as fresh tasting.

This soup would also make a nice appetizer in espresso mugs or shot glasses. It would be great with a little dollop of tofu sour cream.