Lima (Fava) Bean Salad with Feta Cheese
For this recipe, you can use lima beans, butter beans or fava beans. This cool slightly lemony salad is one of my favorites. All you need is a savory crusty bread to mop up the salad juices. Need a side dish for a barbecue party? It lends itself to be prepared ahead.
I am a bean enthusiast, I like them all as you can see in my Beans, Beans and Beans post. They are nutritious with lots of essential minerals. Most beans are quite bland which makes them an ideal flavor absorber.
Yield: 4 servings
Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
- 2 1/2 cups (500 g) frozen lima beans, shelled
- 1 cup (200 g) cherry tomatoes, halved or diced
- 1/2 cup (70 g) diced red onions or thinly sliced scallions
- 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
- 1/4 cup (7 g) chopped flat-leaf parsley
- 1/4 cup (35 g) pitted black olives or 1/2 cup (60 g) cucumbers, sliced
- juice of 1 lemon or to taste
- 1 tsp ground cumin or to taste
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) extra virgin olive oil
- salt and freshly ground pepper
Preparation:
Bring water to a boil in a saucepan. Add salt. Add lima beans and cook according to package directions. Drain beans in a colander. Run them quickly under cold water to keep their nice green color. Let them cool.
In the meantime prepare the salad dressing with garlic, parsley, lemon juice, ground cumin, salt and pepper and extra virgin olive oil. When beans are cold, add the dressing and mix well. Add seasonings to your taste.
If you decide to serve it immediately, add tomatoes, black olives or cucumber, red onion or scallions all at once. For advance preparations, add tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions or scallions just before serving. They tend to lose their crunchiness when added too early.
