Fava, Er, Lima Bean Dip

how to make lima bean dip

Do you know this saying? “When life hands you lemons, make lemonade.” Of course you do.

Well, I have a new saying. It goes like this…”When life hands you a set of beans that you’re not sure you like and definitely don’t appreciate the color of, make bean dip.”

That’s what I did when I thought I had fava beans in my freezer for something like eight months. They just sat there, chillin’, cause I didn’t know what to do with fava beans. At least not until I started seeing fava bean recipes everywhere.

In case you haven’t noticed, fava beans are the real “it” bean this summer.  I seem to see recipes calling for them everywhere. Even the mainstream press is talking fava. Check out this ABC segment and this New York Times article.

So, in preparation for one of my Front Range Food Bloggers Meetups, I pulled out the frozen fava beans to make a lovely-sounding fava bean relish. This thing was going to have raisins in it!

But then I noticed something…

frozen fordhook lima beans

I did not have fava beans. I had lima beans. Now I was faced with another set of beans that I wasn’t sure I liked and that I didn’t really appreciate the color of. So again, I set out to make bean dip. This time based on a recipe I found on EatingWell.com.

Lima Bean Dip

Ingredients:

*1, 10-ounce package frozen lima beans

*3 cloves garlic, minced

*1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper

*2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

*1 1/2 tbsp. lemon juice

*1 tsp. ground cumin

*1 tbsp. fresh cilantro, chopped

*1 tbsp. dill

*1/2 teaspoon salt

*Pepper to taste

Instructions: Put lima beans, garlic, and red pepper in pot of boiling water. After 10 minutes, drain the beans and put in food processor. Add the remaining ingredients and process. If you want a thinner texture, add more lemon juice and olive oil. Or, of course, you can add a few tablespoons of water.

Notes: All in all this bean dip tasted alright. At least that’s what my fellow food bloggers said anyway…I don’t think they’d lie :). I probably overdid it on the seasonings. I couldn’t decide on my direction, so I just started emptying out the spice rack. If I had it to do over, I’d stick with the cumin and cilantro and forgo the dill.

What do you do with your fava beans and lima beans?

4 comments

  1. I think this sounds great! I don’t get why lima beans have such a bad reputation. I feel like people hear the word and run! I think they’re delicious 🙂 Especially in dip form!

  2. I hate to say i have never been to fond of either of those beans, but as a dip they might win me over! What a clever use for those beans!

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