Characteristics – Large Limas (Phaseolus lunatus) are grown commercially only in California and Madagascar, and are sometimes called "butter beans" because of their distinctive flavor. They are especially good in casseroles and with smoked meats. While the recipes listed below can use either dry or canned limas, we should explain that we are referring to the white, large lima bean–not the green "fordhooks" found in your grocer’s freezer. Further, a word of caution if you plan to use dry limas rather than canned: some cooks don’t believe beans need to be soaked, but because of the large lima’s size and shape (as well as its tender skin), we recommend that limas be soaked prior to cooking to reduce the cooking time. Any bean must be cooked at or near boiling, and the rolling action of boiling water can become so vigorous that it peels the skin off the limas. Because of the large lima’s size and relative tenderness, they can also be difficult for canners to deal with, and therefore a "canning quality" lima can bring the grower a premium price.
How and Where Grown – Large Limas can be grown on either bushes or vines, depending on the variety, but in California they are most always grown where the nights are cooler–either along the south coastal regions near Santa Barbara or in the northern San Joaquin Valley west of Modesto, where they can benefit from the cooling night winds from the Bay Area. Growers generally plant the beans anywhere from late April to early June, and harvest them in September or October. Once the beans are mature, the plants are cut off at the root, put in "windrows" to dry, then harvested ten to fifteen days later, when they are hauled to cleaning and storage facilities that in California are called warehouses. There the beans are cleaned, graded, sacked and stored until the grower decides to sell them into the normal marketing channels–usually for dry packaging or canning.
Uses and Recipes – Large Limas, like most beans, are very versatile, which makes them good ingredients for soups and main dishes, while they can also serve well in salads and specialty recipes. The following is a list of 25 recipes using large lima beans, with the asterisks indicating those that are heart-healthy.
Soups
Butterbean Soup
*Ham Hock and Lima Bean Soup
Lima Chicken Stew
*Lima Clam Chowder
*Vegetarian Basque Soup
Salads
Company Mexicali Corn and Bean Salad
*Company Salad Platter
*Crunchy Apple, Bean "N" Cheese Slaw
Limas and Bowtie Pasta Salad
Limas and Green Bean Salad
*Marinated Bean Salad
Entrees
Cowbelle Limas
Lamb and Lima Stir-fry
*Lima Beans and Ham
*Sunshine Bean Casserole
Mexicana
Specialties/ Appetizers
Candied Orange Beans
Chocolate Beans
Side Dishes/ Casseroles
Best in the West Beans
Lima Stroganoff
Old-Fashioned Barbecue Lima Beans
Pizza/ Pasta
Pasta with Broccoli and Beans
Pasta with White Beans and Spinach
Summer Tomato Sauce with Limas
White Bean and Pesto Pizza
