Christmas Lima Bean Soup

Christmas Lima Bean Soup

Serves 8

The Christmas Lima Bean is beautiful to look at with variegated shades of reddish brown and white. While this is wonderful to make at Christmas, this soup is named after the bean and it tastes good all year round. Even if you’re not a fan of lima beans, I suggest you give this one a try. It has a nutty flavor and chewy texture that holds up well in soup. This is a slow simmering soup as it takes a while for the beans to soften and cook. You’ll need to soak the beans overnight and plan on starting to make this soup a few hours before serving.

Tip: Ask your butcher for ham steak if you don’t want an entire ham

Ingredients

1 pound dried Christmas Lima beans, such as Rancho Gordo
12 cups water, divided
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 cups diced cooked ham
1 large onion or leek, chopped
3 large garlic cloves, minced
3 large carrots, diced
3 large celery stalks, diced
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 dried bay leaf
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 large bunch curly kale, chopped
1 medium red sweet pepper, diced
1 cup chopped parsley (from 2 bunches), divided
1 large lemon, zested and juiced
1 tablespoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
Grated Romano cheese for serving

Variations

• This recipe is great for substituting out the vegetables for ones you have on hand, I would recommend also using celery root and Brussels sprouts.

Directions

Place beans in 6 cups of water in a pot and soak overnight at room temperature (make sure the beans are covered with a few inches of water and you may need to add more water depending on the size of your pot). Alternatively, bring the pot to a boil on high heat, remove from the heat and cover. Set aside and allow the beans to sit out at room temperature for about 2 to 3 hours.

Heat the olive oil and butter, until shimmering, in a 8-quart large pot or Dutch oven, over medium heat. Stir in diced ham to render out the fat, about 3 minutes. Stir onions and garlic and cook until they begin to soften, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes. Add carrots, and celery; cook until softened, stirring occasionally, about 3 to 5 minutes.

Add in beans and reserved bean soaking water (about 3 cups), 6 additional cups of water, canned tomatoes, bay leaf, and thyme and bring to a simmer.

Adjust heat to medium- low heat to maintain a low simmer, uncovered until beans are soft, about 1 hour 30 minutes. Once the beans are almost cooked, add kale, red pepper, ½ cup chopped parsley, lemon juice and zest, salt, and pepper. Taste and add more salt as needed.

Remove bay leaf and discard before serving.

Ladle into bowls and grate Romano cheese on top and garnish with the remaining ½ cup chopped parsley.