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Lima Bean Soup

It is a great sorrow to me that Lima beans just arent a local vegetable. I persist in trying to grow them, but they are from coastal Peru originally (see name) and they really dont take to this climate. However, I do occasionally buy them frozen as they are just too delicious to give up.

They make a very smooth and flavourful soup, and very quick and easy too. The quantity is sufficient for a starter to a larger meal; if you wanted, say, soup and a sandwich I dont think it would make 4 servings, more like 2 or 3.

4 smallish servings
20 minutes prep time


4 or 5 cloves of garlic
1 tablespoon butter
300 grams frozen lima beans (1 package)
3 cups chicken stock
salt & pepper to taste

Peel the garlic and cut each clove into 2 or 3 slices, so as to create the most cut surface possible. Heat the butter in a small skillet over very low heat, and gently cook the garlic for about 10 or 15 minutes, until soft and very slightly browned.

Meanwhile, put the lima beans in a pot with the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Boil until done, about 5 minutes.

Put the lima beans into a blender, without the broth but with the garlic and the butter they cooked in, and purée until smooth. Add the broth as needed to keep them puréeing smoothly, but do hold back a little. When the Lima beans are very smooth, return them to the pot. Use the remaining broth to slosh out the blender and add that to the soup pot as well. Mix well and bring back up to a simmer before serving. STIR CONSTANTLY once the beans have been blended. They are very starchy and will do their best to weld themselves to the pot.




Last year at this time it was soup time too. I made Sweet Potato & Lentil Soup and Dried Corn Chowder.