Most people love to hate on lima beans; saying they are mushy, gross, and disgusting, all with an upturned nose. I understand your hatred, I really do. If all you’ve had is overcooked or canned limas, you have good reason to think they are only suited to cafeteria slop. But try my method before you fully write off this protein packed, comfort food. Yes, I said it. In my life, limas with cornbread and fried okra was always a comfort dinner. So try it before you cross the poor lima off your list.

Ingredients:
2 slices of pancetta, chopped
1 small onion
1 16 oz bag of dried lima beans
2 dried bay leaves
seasoning: garlic powder, cayenne pepper, cumin
*if you have a cheese rind floating in your freezer, you can drop that in for flavor. I used an aged Gouda rind but any hard cheese rind works.

Fill a large pot with 6 cups of water and dump your bag of lima beans in. Bring to a boil and then turn down to a low simmer (you want bubbles but not a full boil). Add your bay leaves and cheese rind* in and then go busy yourself with something for about an hour. Remember, don’t add salt now as it will toughen your beans.

At this point, your lima beans will still have a crunchy center but they’re getting closer, so now it’s time to pull out your pancetta and chop it up.

Ok, now that your pancetta is chopped, throw it in a pan over medium heat and start chopping your onion. Add that in and sprinkle with your seasonings of choice. You can salt this mixture if you want.

Let the onions and pancetta brown and then dump them in with your lima beans.

You can see my cheese rind floating in there with the limas and pancetta. Remember to fish that out before you serve the lima beans. Nobody wants to find a soggy cheese rind in their beans! Let this mixture cook down, adding water as needed, and taste test your beans every once in awhile till they are soft. You’ll want to choose large beans to test as the small beans will soften faster. I like my limas to melt in my mouth but still have a bit of resistence, you can choose to go a little firmer or more mushy. Up to you!

Definitely serve these with either cornbread or crusty bread (buttery garlic bread would definitely do the trick). We served ours with jalapeno cornbread, roasted brussel sprouts (recipe next time!) and a big salad.

Enjoy!