Thursday, August 21, 2008

42. Herbed Lima Bean Hummus (p. 15)

So, in my last post, I picked on lima beans. (Did I say something about hipsters eating edamame and grandmas eating limas?) Well, if anything can give lima beans the cache of edameme, it's this recipe.

The recipe starts with simmering frozen baby lima beans, chopped onions and garlic in water for a few minutes until tender. Simmering the garlic and onions is a nice touch, since it mellows their flavor. Then you stir in a 1/4 cup each of chopped parsley and cilantro and let it stand off the heat for a few minutes. After that, you drain it and process it in the food processor with the other herbs and spices (mint, dill, cumin, cayenne) and lemon juice and oil. Season with salt and pepper and additional lemon juice to taste.

This hummus is a really nice change. It's got the familiar texture of chickpea hummus, but the variety of fresh herbs give it a nice bright flavor. Of all of the herbs, I felt that the dill came through more than the others. Generally, I'm not a huge dill fan because it tends to take over in a dish. The finished hummus could have used more lemon juice, but I used all of my lemons making Lemon Squares (check back later for more on those). This is a great dip to make for a party if you're looking for something a little different. I served the hummus with Pita Toasts (not burned this time, thank you very much).

Date Cooked: August 17, 2008
Degree of Difficulty: Easy
Rating: B+

2 comments:

Jessica said...

That looks really good...I haven't eaten lima beans for a while but I liked them as a kid (weird, I know). I should make this!

The Mediocre Cook said...

Everywhere I turn I see hummus! Although this sounds like a very interesting spin on it that I might just have to try!