Lima Bean Ragout w/ Tomato and Thyme

Our church will be challenging members to participate in the Lazarus Project for one week during Lent this year. (Basic idea is to eat as the poor do for five days, then donate the money not spent on lavish meals to help relieve hunger.)

We are not real keen on beans in this household. Other than the usual, unfortunate side effects, the sulphur in most beans will trigger migraines for me. So I did some internet digging to find some inexpensive meals that we could sustitute for the usual beans and rice fare.

We love lima beans, so this will definitely be on our menu plan for that week (March 1-6). I will be posting some more traditional beans and rice recipes in this week as well!

Lima Bean Ragout w/ Tomato and Thyme

· 4 lbs fresh lima beans, shelled, or 2 packages frozen lima beans, thawed

· 2 tablespoons olive oil

· 1 tomato, peeled, seeded, then diced

· 1/2 yellow onion, chopped

· 3 cloves garlic, minced

· 1 bay leaf

· 1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme

· 1/4 teaspoon salt

· 1 cup vegetable stock or broth

· 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf (Italian) parsley

Bring a large saucepan 3/4 full of water to a boil. Add the lima beans and cook until just tender-crisp, about 6 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Drain and set aside.

In a saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium heat. Add the tomato, onion, garlic, bay leaf, thyme and salt and saute until the vegetables soften, about 5 minutes.

Add the stock and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to low, add the cooked lima beans and simmer, uncovered, until heated through, 2 to 3 minutes. Discard the bay leaf and transfer to a serving bowl. Drizzle with the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and sprinkle with the chopped parsley.