Christmas Lima Beans Three Ways

Though I'm still working through a pile o' beans from the last time I ordered from Rancho Gordo, I ordered more earlier this week. I mean, who can resist an "Indian Yellow Woman Bean"? And I ordered more of a bean I cooked up over the weekend: the Christmas Lima Bean. Because it was that good.

I'm not sure why it's called a Christmas Lima because it doesn't seem to be all that festive-looking. Mayhaps it's because people associate chestnuts with Christmas and this bean is said to have a chestnut flavor. I choose my words carefully because I don't know what a chestnut tastes like. I'm sure I've had one--maybe even one that's been roasted on an open fire, but the taste memory didn't stick with me.

Anyhoo, these beans? They taste good. Mostly. Once in a while, a bean will taste a bit too "earthy" for my preference, but overall, they're yummy. Also, they're HUGE. I didn't realize that when I dumped the whole bag in a bowl to soak and within an hour they'd doubled in size. Oops. That's why the title of this post is "Christmas Lima Beans Three Ways"--three ways in five days for me but just three ways in three days for the SO.

Day #1: The beans spent all day in the crockpot with nothing but water and salt. By dinner time, they were ready for our first meal. I prepared some of the Trader Joe's Harvest Grains Blend in some vegetable broth, spooned a generous portion of beans on top and served it with some sauteed asparagus. The taste of the beans stands up pretty well on its own, so this was a good meal.

Day #2: I decided to get a little more adventurous. I wasn't ready to puree them into a hummus just yet, though. So I got out some goat cheese, fluffed it up with some hot water, added some herbs de Provence and toasted some small baguette wedges served with some bruschetta topping. The beans worked really well with the Italian-inspired flavors. With some of the toast, we spread the goat cheese and topped it with beans and with others, it was just the bruschetta topping with the beans. Delicious.

Day #3: For reasons no cares about, I'd still not gone to the grocery, so I had to make do with whatever I could find around the house. And, actually, this one was my favorite. I pan fried some polenta, set pieces of it on a bed of arugula, piled on some chunky tomato sauce (with a little more oil and balsamic vinegar so it could serve as a salad dressing) and then topped it all with some sauteed beans. And, okay, a little bit of parmigiano on top and a couple of pinches of fleur de sel. Very tasty!

After three dinners, I STILL had beans. So I had some beans with the leftover harvest grain mix for lunch one day this week and well, I just don't know exactly what I will do with that one last serving of beans in the fridge. They will be eaten somehow, some way, though. They're too good to compost. But next time? I'll just soak and cook a third of the package.