Pot of Happiness

I took a bag of lima beans & a recipe from Mark Bittman's 'How to Cook Everything Vegetarian', used 3 different suggested variations then did my own tweaking to arrive at this. I went with a Middle Eastern twist. It is very lemony, thyme-y, creamy from the beans & olive oil, a bit of zip from the pepper; just delicious. And very easy. This made enough for 4 people's dinner w/out leftovers. Who knew lima beans could be SO good?? The 90 minute prep time is for cooking the beans and is approximate.

• Ready In: 2 hrs
• Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 1  lb lima beans, large, dried
•  water
•  salt
• 2  tablespoons olive oil
• 1  large onion, chopped
• 6  cups  vegetable stock
• 2 -4  tablespoons za'atar spice mix, such as Za'atar
• 1  lemon, zest & juice
• 1  dried red chili pepper
• 2 -4  tablespoons  chopped preserved lemons, such as Preserved Lemons
• 2 -4  tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, please choose a nice, fruity one
•  salt & pepper

Directions

1. Sort dried beans. Add to boiling, salted water & simmer until ALMOST soft. Drain.
2. In soup pot, heat olive oil. Add chopped onion & saute until softened. Add vegetable stock, drained beans, za'atar, lemon zest & juice, chili pepper, & preserved lemon. Simmer 30 minutes to let flavors mingle & beans to finish cooking.
3. Check for seasoning. Add olive oil for richness & body. Add additional salt & pepper to taste.