If you are like me, you grew up cringing every time you saw lima beans – those yucky, mushy, stinky lima beans.  Never would I eat them, no way, no how.  I’d rather lock myself in the bathroom!

When I moved to Delaware, where they grow lima beans, people would actually look forward to the harvest and pay a premium for fresh pole limas.  What?!  Were these people crazy?  It took me about 15 years of living here before I would try cooked fresh limas.  Once I did, I wondered what took me so long!

Still, I think the preparation is the key, these are fresh beans, so I don’t boil them, I don’t turn them to mush.  I bake them, with tomatoes and olive oil and seasoning.  Very simple, but very rich in flavor.

I grew my own limas last year, that was a lot of fun, but the harvest was a lot of work.  I tried again this year, but the beans never germinated.  So I had to buy beans.  I bought about a half gallon basket, which yielded about a pound of beans, maybe a bit more.

I made them as a side dish to my cornflake crumb chicken tenders (look for the recipe for that in a few days).  So it was kind of a retro-themed dinner – my modern version of a 1950’s lima bean and chicken cutlet dinner.

‘Never Say Never Again’ Lima Beans

1 lb fresh lima beans, shelled

1 16-ounce can fire-roasted tomatoes (you can make it with regular diced tomatoes, but the fire-roasted make it even better)

A generous 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

4 cloves garlic, chopped

sea salt to taste

Preheat oven 375F.

Spread the lima beans in a 9 x 13 baking dish.

Add the tomatoes, oil, garlic, and salt.  Stir to mix.

Bake, uncovered, for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from the oven, and enjoy!

Serves 4 as a side dish.