Secrets of a Bean Queen

My friends and family call me “the bean queen.” True, I have always liked beans. In the summer, I love to make bean salads and, in winter, bean soup is my specialty. Recently, I’ve discovered how much I like lima beans.

There is nothing exotic about this bean, especially plain old frozen limas.

Lima beans are available as Fordhooks or baby limas, although dozens of other varieties are grown. Fordhooks are large and starchy and delicious in salads with a little chopped red onion, fresh parsley, sliced celery and a splash of red wine vinegar and olive oil.

But mostly I prefer the small, buttery baby limas. Of course, fresh limas are available during the summer, but they take time and patience to shell, so for everyday cooking--and in the winter especially--I depend on frozen lima beans.

One of my favorite lima bean recipes combines them with clams. It’s cooked as a paella without the rice, and the little-neck clams in their shells are steamed open over the simmering beans.

The following recipe is also reminiscent of paella, combining rice, lima beans, chicken, sausage and spices. I use a soft, sticky rice like Arborio for this dish, but you can use a rice that cooks dry and separate like basmati or Texmati. Cooking time for the recipe is about 40 minutes.

All one needs to serve with this hearty dish is a simple crisp green salad and some fresh fruit for dessert.

CHICKEN, LIMA AND SAUSAGE RICE

2 links Italian sweet or hot sausage

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 to 6 chicken drumsticks, skinned if desired

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup diced red bell pepper

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric

1 1/2 cups medium-grain domestic white rice or Arborio

3 cups water

1 cup frozen baby lima beans

2 tablespoons raisins or dried currants

1 lemon, cut into wedges

Remove skin from sausages and cut into chunks.

Heat oil in deep skillet with tight-fitting lid or wide shallow saucepan. Add chicken and sausages and season generously to taste with salt and pepper. Cook, turning chicken, until browned, about 10 minutes. Remove to another dish. Drain excess oil and discard.

Add onion and bell pepper to skillet and cook, stirring, until lightly browned. Add garlic, cumin and turmeric and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add rice and stir until blended. Add water and bring to boil. Stir in lima beans and salt to taste.

Arrange chicken and sausages on top of rice. Sprinkle with raisins. Cover and cook over medium-low heat until rice is tender and chicken is cooked through, about 20 minutes.

Serve with lemon wedges. Squeeze lemon on top before eating.

Makes 4 servings.

Each serving contains about:

624 calories; 483 mg sodium; 81 mg cholesterol; 23 grams fat; 76 grams carbohydrates; 26 grams protein; 1.34 grams fiber.