Fresh Lima Bean Hummus

If you're feeling fatigued reading our third consecutive entry about lima beans, imagine how we feel.  Eating from the garden every day means cooking with what is available, even if it means eating the same vegetable for days on end.  Luckily, we have not yet hit the lima bean saturation point.   In fact, after months of eating eggplant every night, limas still feel like a novelty.  The fact that these beans are so adaptable has helped immensely.

We've been craving Middle Eastern food lately, so David decided to create a hummus made with fresh lima beans instead of the standard (canned or dried) chickpeas.  We used a mixture of lima varieties from the garden, and added our fresh parsley, cilantro, mint and dill as seasonings. The hummus, a lovely smoky green color, was thick and filling, with a flavor quite distinct from traditional hummus.  To round out the meal, we sauteed thin slices of Sfumata di Rosa eggplant (yes, we're still harvestiing eggplant!) and served the hummus and eggplant with warm pita bread, feta, fresh Marketmore cucumbers and Matt's Wild Cherry tomatoes from the garden.   Eating from the garden has rarely been better.

 

 

 
Fresh Lima Bean Hummus

Ingredients

1 1/2     cup         Fresh lima beans, removed from pods
1/2                       onion, chopped
3                          garlic cloves, skins removed and smashed
1/2         tsp          salt, plus more to taste
                            black pepper to taste
1          cup          water
1/8       cup          Italian parsley, chopped
1/8       cup          cilantro, chopped
1 1/4    tsp           cumin
1/4       tsp           cayenne pepper
3          Tbs          lemon juice
3          Tbs          olive oil
3          Tbs          tahini
1          Tbs          fresh dill, chopped
1          Tbs          fresh mint, chopped


Procedure

1. Combine beans, onion, garlic, 1/2 tsp salt and water and simmer, covered, until beans are tender (about 12 minutes).
2. Remove from heat, uncover and add parsley and cilantro.  Let steep 5 minutes.
3. Drain water.  Add cumin, cayenne, lemon juice, olive oil, dill, mint and tahini and puree until smooth.  We added more salt at this point, and black pepper.  You may need more lemon juice too.
   
4. Sprinkle with sumac.  Serve with warm pita.