Ingredients
- 1 pound dry large (or baby) lima beans
- 8 cups water
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 carrots (chopped)
- 2 small leeks (white bulb only, chopped)
or 1 small onion (chopped) - 1 minced shallot or (2 garlic cloves minced)
- 2 stalks celery (chopped)
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp thyme
- 1 tsp salt (omit if using salty meat)
- ground black pepper
- 8 cups broth (chicken or vegetable)
- 2 potatoes
- Optional: Ham bone, uncured bacon, or salt pork – prepare as directed and add to soup with broth.
Instructions
- Bring 8 cups of water to a boil.
- Add 1/4 to 1/2 tsp baking soda (a pinch).
(Baking soda both speeds cooking and softens beans making them creamier by raising pH.) - Add lima beans and boil for 10 minutes.
- Remove from heat, cover. Let beans soak for 2.5 hours.
- Drain and rinse beans; return to pot.
- In a large pan, heat olive oil and sauté the onion/leeks, garlic/shallots until slightly translucent.
- Add 8 cups of chicken broth to the beans in the pot. Add the rest of the vegetables.
- Stir to combine and simmer on low for 1.5 hours, uncovered, stirring frequently.
- Season with salt and pepper as desired.
- In the meantime, peel, quarter, and boil the potatoes until fork tender. Drain and mash then add to soup to thicken.
