Lima Bean Salad

Lima Bean Salad

Soft butternut squash and big tender lima beans are enough all by themselves. Add roasted garlic and red peppers as well as sweet sautéed leeks and raspberry vinegar, and the colors alone will bring you happiness. This dish has all the elements of late autumn comfort food.

SALAD:

Yield: 8 to 10 servings

  • 2 cups lima beans

  • 2 medium butternut squash peeled and diced into 1/2-inch cubes

  • 10 cloves garlic, peeled

  • Olive oil for roasting and sautéing (about 2 tablespoons total)

  • 3 red bell peppers

  • 2 leeks, rinsed and thinly sliced

DRESSING:

  • 1/3 cup olive oil

  • 1/2 cup raspberry vinegar

  • 1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme or 11/2 teaspoons dried

  • 1 tablespoon cumin

  • 2 teaspoons celery seed

  • 2 teaspoons salt

Instructions:

  1. Cook the lima beans in 5 cups of water  and set them aside to cool. Steam the squash in a vegetable steamer or boil it in 2 cups of water until it’s soft (about 8 minutes), drain, and set aside.

  2. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Mix the garlic with a tablespoon of olive oil in a small dish and bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Set it aside.

  3. Brush the peppers with olive oil and roast them in the oven until they’re charred on the outside, about 25 to 30 minutes. You can also roast the peppers over an open flame, but when doing so, do not brush the peppers with oil.

  4. Hold the peppers with tongs about an inch from the open flame and turn them so they are evenly charred, about 2 minutes per side. Place the roasted peppers in a paper bag and let them cool.

  5. This steams the peppers so the skins come off easily. When they have cooled completely, peel off the skin, cut out the stem and seeds, and chop them into half-inch squares.

  6. Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a heavy skillet over a medium flame and sauté the leeks until they’re soft, about 3 minutes. Combine the lima beans, squash, garlic, peppers, and leeks in a large bowl and mix well.

  7. For the dressing, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, thyme, cumin, celery seed, and salt in a small bowl. Pour the dressing over the vegetables and mix well.

 

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