Lima beans, large, pale green and kidney shaped, look distinctly appealing stacked in clear plastic bags, having come into season this last month. I discovered them last year, and was quick to buy some to make a dish that has already become a family favorite: lima bean soup (see recipe). I had never seen fresh lima beans before becoming a habitue of Taiwan’s traditional markets, and they were distinctly alien to the middle-class Australian diet of my youth. Beans in soup, or indeed beans of any kind (excluding canned baked beans for breakfast), were regarded as both “rustic” and “foreign,” but using lima beans has help spur my growing realization of how very good beans can be. For me at least, it has brought them into the realm of sophisticated cuisine, rather in the way of the gentrification, or even ennoblement, of the formerly humble French cassoulet.
Lima beans got their name from the large trade in these legumes during the Spanish viceroyalty of Peru, when the beans were widely exported to Europe and elsewhere in the Americas, their point of origin stamped on the crates as “Lima, Peru.” In some countries lima beans are also called “butter beans” because of their starchy yet buttery texture. In Taiwan, one of their most common names is emperor bean (皇帝豆) due to their large size and delicate flavor. While many local food Web sites laud the lima bean for its health giving properties, it is not something often found in conventional Taiwanese cuisine. Canned and dried beans can be relatively easily found and are now regularly used in western-style cuisine, but I was keen to find a dish that really brought out the subtle flavors and creamy texture of the fresh beans.
The most inescapable aspect from even the most cursory perusal of the Internet are the abundant, even overwhelming, claims for its nutritional and health-enhancing benefits. Any thorough rundown of all the claims made for it would fill pages, but it is worth noting that lima beans, like all legumes, are a good source of cholesterol-lowering fiber. In addition to lowering cholesterol, the high fiber content of lima beans prevents blood sugar levels from rising too rapidly after a meal, making these beans an especially good choice for individuals with diabetes, insulin resistance or hypoglycemia. Lima beans also contain insoluble fiber, which studies have shown help prevent constipation and digestive disorders like irritable bowel syndrome and diverticulosis. It also reduces the risk of heart attack, raises iron levels in the blood and is a great source of fat-free protein (making it particularly good red meat substitute for vegetarians). The list goes on and on. The only caveat on all this good news is that those with arthritis or kidney problems should only eat the bean in moderation due to its high potassium content.
Photo: Ian Bartholomew
Fresh lima beans are ridiculously easy to prepare, and simply need to be washed and cooked in water. They have a translucent skin, which may detach during cooking, but these are perfectly edible and nutritious. The cooking liquid used in preparing the beans can also be retained in most cases to minimize loss of highly-soluble potassium, which is an important element of the bean’s nutritional armory.
Lima Bean Soup with Cumin Oil
This is a rich, creamy winter soup that uses no cream, relying on the buttery texture of the beans to give it a smooth, velvety texture. It is quick to make and can serve as a meal in its own right, or a tempting opening to a multi-course banquet.
Photo: Ian Bartholomew
Recipe
(serves 4)
Ingredients
For the soup
300g fresh lima beans
400ml home-made vegetable or chicken stock
2 cloves garlic
40g salted pork or bacon (optional, but it does give the soup an added depth of flavor)
1 onion, roughly chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper
For the garnish
2 tbsp olive oil
2 teaspoon cumin seed
Pinch salt
Parsley, finely chopped
Directions
1. Wash the beans and then cover with cold water by 5cm or more. Bring to a boil then simmer uncovered for 30 minutes.
2. Drain, reserving cooking liquid and set aside.
3. While the beans are cooking, put the onion, bacon and olive oil in a heavy-based saucepan and heat gently until the onions soften and become translucent. Add the garlic and cook for two or three more minutes.
4. Add the stock and cooking liquid. Bring to a boil then simmer for 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Add the beans and cook for a further 10 minutes.
6. Put in a blender (a powerful blender such as a Blendtec or Vitamix will produce a creamier, finer textured soup) and blitz until smooth. Adjust seasoning. The soup should pour like thick cream. If it is too much like a puree, just add a bit more stock to thin it.
7. Toast the cumin seeds in a dry fry pan over low heat until fragrant. The toasted seeds can be easily ground with a small pestle and mortar, though a spice grinder will save you some slight exertion.
8. Place the ground cumin in a small pan with the olive oil and a pinch of salt. Heat over low heat for two or three minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
9. When ready to serve, drizzle the cumin oil on the soup, along with a generous sprinkle of chopped parsley. Serve the soup either warm or at room temperature with toasted French bread.
Under pressure, President William Lai (賴清德) has enacted his first cabinet reshuffle. Whether it will be enough to staunch the bleeding remains to be seen. Cabinet members in the Executive Yuan almost always end up as sacrificial lambs, especially those appointed early in a president’s term. When presidents are under pressure, the cabinet is reshuffled. This is not unique to any party or president; this is the custom. This is the case in many democracies, especially parliamentary ones. In Taiwan, constitutionally the president presides over the heads of the five branches of government, each of which is confusingly translated as “president”
Sept. 1 to Sept. 7 In 1899, Kozaburo Hirai became the first documented Japanese to wed a Taiwanese under colonial rule. The soldier was partly motivated by the government’s policy of assimilating the Taiwanese population through intermarriage. While his friends and family disapproved and even mocked him, the marriage endured. By 1930, when his story appeared in Tales of Virtuous Deeds in Taiwan, Hirai had settled in his wife’s rural Changhua hometown, farming the land and integrating into local society. Similarly, Aiko Fujii, who married into the prominent Wufeng Lin Family (霧峰林家) in 1927, quickly learned Hoklo (commonly known as Taiwanese) and
The Venice Film Festival kicked off with the world premiere of Paolo Sorrentino’s La Grazia Wednesday night on the Lido. The opening ceremony of the festival also saw Francis Ford Coppola presenting filmmaker Werner Herzog with a lifetime achievement prize. The 82nd edition of the glamorous international film festival is playing host to many Hollywood stars, including George Clooney, Julia Roberts and Dwayne Johnson, and famed auteurs, from Guillermo del Toro to Kathryn Bigelow, who all have films debuting over the next 10 days. The conflict in Gaza has also already been an everpresent topic both outside the festival’s walls, where
The low voter turnout for the referendum on Aug. 23 shows that many Taiwanese are apathetic about nuclear energy, but there are long-term energy stakes involved that the public needs to grasp Taiwan faces an energy trilemma: soaring AI-driven demand, pressure to cut carbon and reliance on fragile fuel imports. But the nuclear referendum on Aug. 23 showed how little this registered with voters, many of whom neither see the long game nor grasp the stakes. Volunteer referendum worker Vivian Chen (陳薇安) put it bluntly: “I’ve seen many people asking what they’re voting for when they arrive to vote. They cast their vote without even doing any research.” Imagine Taiwanese voters invited to a poker table. The bet looked simple — yes or no — yet most never showed. More than two-thirds of those
RSS