I have just started growing Lima (or Butter Beans) in my garden last year, so this was an exciting recipe to come up with!
NOTE: When I create a recipe, I am very careful what I put into it. I do not use ingredients for fun, I use them for good health! If you want to know what nutritional and medicinal benefits are in my recipes, a profile of ingredients is listed at the end:
Other Main Ingredients:
Halve 20 organic Cherry Tomatoes or cube 5-6 larger organic Tomatoes
Slice up 1 organic Red Onion and 1 organic Brown Onion
Halve 15 organic Black Olives (stoned/pitted)
Chop 1 small organic Green Capsicum
Finely chop 2 organic Green Chillies
Flavouring Ingredients:
2-3 Tbsps. Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil
4 cloves finely chopped organic Garlic
25g (or a 1″ piece) of fresh organic crushed Ginger or finely chopped root
2 tsps. organic Coriander Seeds
2 tsps. fresh or dried organic Thyme
1 Tsp. organic Coconut Sugar or Rapadura/Jaggery
pinch of organic Saffron Threads, soaked in a little water
juice of 1 organic lemon – freshly squeezed
1/2 tsp. each of organic Himilayan Pink Salt & organic Ground Szechuan Pepper
Handful of fresh picked organic Chervil – some chopped and some left for garnish
Method:
Put Olive Oil into Tagine and warm up until hot. Cook off onion in the oil once hot, until caramelized. While doing this, put Lima Beans into fresh filtered water in a pot and bring to the boil. Simmer for 20-30mins then drain and add to the caramelized onions. (Make sure the beans are soft to the bite, but not mushy and falling apart.)
Add Chillies, Capsicum, Ginger, Coriander Seeds and Sugar, stir well and cook for around 5 mins. Then add in Saffon with its soaking water. Add the Tomatoes, Olives, Dried Thyme and Lemon Juice and cover with Tagine lid, and cook for 20-30 mins.
Check Lima Beans, and carry on cooking if they are not done. Once they are tender enough to eat, add the Garlic, Salt & Pepper, also the chopped Chervil and serve in bowls. Add a small stalk of Chervil on top if you wish – as a finishing garnish.
Main Ingredients – Nutritional breakdown:
LIMA (or BUTTER) BEANS
– protein
– calcium
– magnesium
– manganese
– molybdenum (detoxifies the body from sulphites)
– zinc
– copper
– selenuim
– phosphorous
– potassium
– iron
– folate
– choline (essential for brain function)
– omega’s 3 & 6
– Vit’s B1, B2, B3, B5 & B6, K
– cholesterol lowering
– blood sugar levelling
– anti-oxidant
– high in fibre (helps with heart health)
TOMATOES
– rich in lycopene (has anti-cancer properties)
– alpha-lipoic acid
– lutein
– choline
– biotin
– molybdenum
– potassium
– iron
– folic acid
– beta-carotene
– Vitamins A, C & K
– reduces cholesterol
CHILLI & CAPSICUM
– manganese
– magnesium
– molybdenum
– folate
– zinc
– copper
– phosphorous
– potassium
– selenium
– carotenoids
– cysteine (amino acid)
– capsaicin (good for pain)
– other phyto chemicals thought to reduce cancer cell growth
– Vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, C, E & K
– anti-inflammatory
– antioxidant
– antibacterial
– fibre
ONION
– chromium
– quercetin (helps with preventing cancer)
– potassium
– iron
– folic acid
– Vitamins A, B6, C & E
– sulphur compounds, when raw
– fibre
GARLIC
– selenium
– manganese
– calcium
– copper
– potassium
– phosphorus
– iron
– Vitamins B1, B6 & C
– fibre
– immune booster
– reduces blood pressure
GINGER
– calcium
– magnesium
– manganese
– phosphorous
– potassium
– zinc
– folate
– Iron
– Vitamins B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, C & E
– antioxidant
– anti-inflammatory
– helps immunity
LEMONS/LIMES (FLESH, JUICE or RIND)
– folate
– Vit C
– limonins (powerful anti-carcinogens that can prevent cancer cells spreading)
– anti-oxidant
– antibiotic (limes are esp. helpful against cholera)
– anti-inflammatory (great for rheumatoid arthritis)
ORGANIC EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL (& Olives)
– copper
– calcium
– iron
– potassium
– manganese
– zinc
– omega’s 3 & 6
– Vits A & E
– anti-inflammatory
– antioxidant
– carotenoids (helps against heart disease)
– oleuropein (helps with cholesterol)
– fibre
CORIANDER (SEEDS or GROUND)
Iron, Folate, Manganese, Magnesium, Potassium, Phosphorus, Zinc, Calcium, Copper
Contains Vit A, B1, B2 & B3
Antiseptic, Antioxidant
Linalool – Essential oil
Helps protect against bowel cancer
Carminative
Digestive aid – great for stomach pains
Cholesterol lowering
Easy to grow and readily available in NZ: http://www.kingsseeds.co.nz/shop/Herbs/Alpha+Search+for+Herbs/Coriander+Slowbolt-6215.html
THYME
– iron, manganese and copper
– Vitamins A & C
– antioxidant, antibacterial, antiseptic
– fibre
PARSLEY (Curled) or ITALIAN PARSLEY (also CHERVI or FRENCH PARSLEY)
– folic acid
– calcium
– iron
– carotene
– copper
– manganese
– Vitamins A, C & K
– reduces blood pressure
– anti-inflammatory
– the essential oils are cancer preventatives
– fibre
(**note: those with existing kidney or gall stones should restrict intake from parsley family)
© 2014-2015: “Garden to Kitchen” with Suz – All content on this blog is Copyright.
LOve to know what is in food nutrionally, thank you!
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Thank you Grace, it is good to know what we are eating – and why 🙂
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Nice! I love butter beans! They’re quite versatile! I thought soaking them for three days would make then tough! But I take your word for it if you say it helps make them more digestible!
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Yes, it does sound strange doesn’t it, but they end up quite soft and it cuts the cooking time down too -as well as changing the enzyme makeup of the bean so the body can digest them easier and get more nutrients from them. 🙂
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Hmmm… I think I’ll try that method and see if the gas problem subsides!
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It does help. 🙂 Also, skimming the froth/foam off the top of the beans when they are cooked, also helps too.
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Cheers!
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