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Butter Beans with Butter, Mint, and Lime

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Butter Beans with Butter, Mint, and LimePhoto by Squire Fox

Butter beans are among the late-summer treasures in Charleston. For this simple, satisfying side, use the small green kind (or frozen baby lima beans in the off-season).

Recipe information

  • Yield

    Makes 8 servings

Ingredients

Kosher salt
6 cups fresh shelled butter beans or frozen baby lima beans
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
Juice of 2 large limes
1 cup loosely packed mint leaves, chopped
Freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon grated lime zest, for garnish

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    In a medium saucepan, bring 6 cups water and 1 tablespoon salt to a boil over high heat. Add butter beans and cook until tender, 9-12 minutes, depending on the size of the beans. Drain in a colander; shake colander several times to shed as much water as possible.

    Step 2

    Put butter in a large serving bowl, and pour warm butter beans on top. Toss beans with butter until all the butter is melted. Add lime juice and toss again to distribute. Fold in mint, season with salt and pepper, and scatter lime zest over the top. Serve immediately.

Reprinted with permission from The Lee Bros. Charleston Kitchen by Matt Lee & Ted Lee, © 2013 Clarkson Potter Matt Lee and Ted Lee, founders of The Lee Bros. Boiled Peanuts Catalogue, a mail-order source for Southern pantry staples, grew up in Charleston, South Carolina. They are the authors of The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook, which won the James Beard Award for Cookbook of the Year in 2007, and The Lee Bros. Simple Fresh Southern, which won the IACP Award for Best American Cookbook in 2011. They are contributing editors for Travel + Leisure and contributors on Cooking Channel's Unique Eats.
TagsAmericanBean and LegumeVegetableMintHerbs & SpicesSideDinnerGluten FreeNut FreeVegetarianCookbooks

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