Southern Creamy Butter Beans (Large Lima Beans)

Large lima beans, or butter beans as we refer to them in the south, have a lovely creamy texture, and with this mix of seasonings, are just pure comfort food.

Creamy Butter Beans

Good old fashioned creamy butter beans are a southern favorite for sure! I love baking a huge bone-in ham because it means that you get to put away that bone and some extra ham just especially for some for beans or a soup on down the line!  Beans are a popular meal down south because they are inexpensive (read that as cheap for us southerners), they are filling, and besides the fact that on a cold day they sure do warm the belly up real quick, once you get them on the stove, they don't require a lot of tending to either.  Large lima beans, or butter beans as we refer to them, have a lovely creamy texture and with this mix of seasonings, are just pure comfort food, especially on a cold day like today. Serve with a side of cast iron skillet cornbread!

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Recipe: Southern Creamy Butter Beans (Large Lima Beans)

©From the Kitchen of Deep South Dish

Prep time: 1 Hour |Cook time: 2 hours |

Yield: About 4 to 6 servings

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Ingredients

• 1 pound bag of Camellia brand large lima beans
• Water to cover plus an inch
• 1 tablespoon olive or canola oil
• 1/2 cup of chopped onion
• 1/2 cup of chopped celery
• 1/4 cup of chopped carrot
• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1 teaspoon of thyme
• 10 turns of a pepper grinder
• 1 to 2 cups of leftover baked ham, roughly chopped
• Ham bone or ham hock, optional
• 1 (32-ounce) carton of chicken stock
• 4-6 cups of water
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) of butter
• 2 tablespoons of dried parsley
• Pinch of Cajun seasoning (like Slap Ya Mama)
• Couple pinches of kosher salt, or to taste

Instructions

Rinse and sort beans, place into stockpot with just enough water to cover them, plus about an inch. Bring to a boil, cover and turn off the burner. Let soak covered for one hour. Can also simply soak beans in water overnight.

Meanwhile, in the bottom of soup pot or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium; add the onion, celery, carrots, garlic and sauté until tender. Add the thyme and pepper and stir; add the ham chunks and continue cooking, stirring occasionally. Toss in the ham bone or ham hocks.

Drain the beans, return them to the pot, add the chicken stock and 4 cups of the water and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium and continue cooking for about 1 hour. Stir in butter, parsley, and a pinch of Cajun seasoning, more or less depending on how spicy you want it. Taste and add salt if needed.

Continue cooking on a low simmer an additional 30 minutes to 1 hour, or until beans are tender and sauce thickens. Add additional chicken stock or water as needed. When beans are tender, taste and adjust seasonings as desired; cover and hold on very low.

Serve over hot cooked rice with a side of cast iron skillet cornbread.

~Cook's Notes~

Older beans take longer to cook so if your beans have been in the pantry for awhile, you may have to cook them longer. Fresh beans cook more quickly. You can substitute bacon if you don't have any leftover ham. Just chop up as much bacon as you want - at least a half pound I would say - and saute that in a pan until browned, then toss in the chopped onion, celery, carrots, and garlic right there in with that bacon and bacon fat and cook until tender, adding olive oil only if needed to saute the veggies. Pick up the rest of the recipe from there. For tips on thickening beans, click here.

Crockpot: Rinse, drain and sort through beans. Add the unsoaked beans to a 4-quart or larger slow cooker. Saute veggies and meats and add with all of the remaining ingredients except butter, parsley, Cajun seasoning and rice. Cover the beans with 5 to 7 cups of very hot water, or use a combination of water and broth if desired - you’ll need more or less depending on whether you’ve soaked your beans and whether you are using a large ham bone. You want to cover the beans by about an inch or so. Cover and cook on high for 7 to 8 hours, 10 to 12 hours on low, or until the beans are tender. Before serving, stir in butter, parsley, Cajun seasoning and salt; taste and adjust seasonings as needed.

Source: http://deepsouthdish.com

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Posted by Mary on December 10, 2009

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