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Saturday, April 08, 2006

Fettuccine with lima beans and artichokes


I'm in a light, summery mood today and have prepared a light summery dish: Fettuccine with lima beans and artichokes in a lemon and garlic wine broth with a little half & half and lots of freshly ground pepper. Lima beans, a.k.a. butter beans, have a delightful buttery taste and the pale green baby limas look great in waves of fettuccine. Not only do they look and taste good, they are packed with nutritional value: protein, B vitamins, iron, potassium, and magnesium. No wonder they've been popular since around 5000 B.C.! Today, they paired nicely with the artichokes. The meal was made in a snap and lovely and light, perfect for the first day I've actually felt too hot in a fleece.

Here's how to make a bowl for yourself:

6 oz dried fettuccine
1/2 cup frozen lima beans
10 frozen baby artichokes
1 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tbsp white wine
1/2 cup vegetable broth
1-2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp half & half (optional)
salt and pepper
cheese shavings (optional)
snipped chives (optional)

Boil water and cook fettuccine per package with a tiny bit of olive oil.

In a small saucepan, parboil the lima beans and artichokes together for 1 minute. Drain.

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil and saute the garlic gently for 1 minute. Add the lima beans and artichokes, coat, and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add the wine and cook for 1 minute. Add the vegetable broth and lemon juice and cook gently for 2-3 minutes. Add half & half (if using). Turn off the heat and add the fettuccine to the vegetables and sauce. Season and serve immediately with cheese shavings (parmesan, gruyere - use a vegetable peeler for shavings) and snipped chives and a big glass of white wine. Follow with a healthy dessert of crunchy red grapes.

Enjoy!

11 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

This and your asparagus look fantastic! Can't wait to try them both. Lovely site. Thanks for beautiful ideas.

6:54 PM  
Blogger Catherine said...

Welcome Tanna,

Thanks for visiting and your kinds words. Your blog is the first I've seen on the mac blog platform. How is that?

7:41 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Catherine - excellent photography. (I noticed the very nice & natural background. Did you go outside?) Also, nice use of limas. My wife loves them.

7:58 PM  
Blogger Catherine said...

Hi Brendon,

Yes, I did go outside to take this picture. I've tried it a couple of times before but this time it really worked. Lima beans are really good - I need to make more of them.

8:14 PM  
Blogger Fiber said...

You know, I must admit I haven't had lima beans since I was a child, when I completely hated them. However, this recipe looks awesome, and it might be the perfect way to get back on the horse. I'll let you know how it goes.

10:29 AM  
Blogger cookiecrumb said...

Lima beans are yummy, Fiber. Think of them as little potatoes. :D
Catherine -- Drool! Very nice, simple, seductive. And such a great spring-y photo.

5:54 AM  
Blogger Diane Daniel said...

Wow this recipe looks enticing! I love lima beans in all of their wonderful stages....yum!

5:55 AM  
Blogger Catherine said...

Hi fiber - try the baby lima beans -they're small and delicate.
Hi cookiecrumb - very simple, but good. So much for summer here - the one day without rain was nice.

Hi rainvalley,
Thanks for the visit!
I'm committed to making more recipes with these babies!

8:36 AM  
Blogger Cyndi said...

What I've always called butter beans are about twice, sometimes three, times as as large as lima beans, and are pale tan instead of green. But they taste similar, though the butter beans are mushier. Are they just grown up lima beans? Do you think this recipe would work with edamame?

7:07 PM  
Blogger Catherine said...

Hi Cyndi,
I used frozen fresh baby lima beans. I'm guessing you're refering to dried lima beans which get much larger with soaking. I think edamame would work, although I always have them with asian flavors. Give it a try and let us know!

10:04 AM  
Blogger Cyndi said...

I found out that they're basically the same thing, though this: http://www.goodnessdirect.co.uk/cgi-local/frameset/detail/100881.html are the pale tan large ones, normally called butter beans, and http://www.bloggingbaby.com/2004/09/23/your-baby-with-a-discriminating-palate-maybe-shes-destined-to/ these are the ones that are green. When you buy canned lima beans, they're the green ones. When you buy canned butter beans, they're the tan ones. And yes, I'll try the edadame beans.

11:34 AM  

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