Bacon Lima Beans a la Trenhome

As always, I’m going to guestimate amounts. This is the sort of dish you can throw together favoring whichever ingredients tickle your taste buds.

Boil the lima beans, or blanch them or whatever. I can’t really imagine the down-home packaging of Birds Eye veggies calling for “blanching” anything, but I think that’s sort of what you’ll end up doing.

So you’ve blanched/boiled your beans, and then drained them of the water. Set them aside and fry up your bacon or bacon-like substance. Be sure to keep all the good greasy stuff in the bottom of the pan for the following ingredients. Once the bacon’s done, remove and set aside. Sauté the onion in bacon grease and once it’s lightly translucent, add your thyme and tarragon. I’m thinking maybe 1 tablespoon of each, though you’ll have to taste it and see. And remember, with the thyme, you’ll want to pick the little leaves from the stem. Don’t be lazy and cut the whole sprig, or you’ll be picking bits of twig from your teeth later. Same for the tarragon--pull the leaves from the stem for the best flavor and texture. Then chop ’em finely, but not so much as to create a juicy, minced mess. So you’ve added your herbs. Season with salt and pepper, then throw the lima beans in and crumble the bacon on top, stirring everything until it’s mixed and warmed and coated in fried, fatty goodness. Remove and plate, then top with grated parmegiano reggiano and a few drizzles of lemon. C’est magnifique! Actually, I don’t know that firsthand, but I feel pretty good throwing that out there. These are not your mother’s lima beans. Enjoy!