You made the preserved lemons with me last month, right? Okay, well it's time to pull the jar out of the cabinet you've been keeping it in, and let's do one more thing to it before we eat it. Let's make compound butter with it, then we're going to toss it atop freshly cooked lima beans for some of the best butter beans you've ever had. We shall call them preserved lemon butter beans, or lima beans, whichever you prefer. You can read more about the etymology of butter versus lima beans if you care.
Bean Thoughts
In fact, you can use baby limas or larger butter beans here. It's not about the size, it's about the delicious taste. And as far as dried versus canned, I always prefer dried ones. They are cheaper, for one. And they don't have that canned bean goop on them. But they do take a little planning ahead, as you need to soak your beans before cooking. You can technically not bother with soaking them, but you'll likely experience the bloating that comes with your body digesting the sugars that would have come out of the beans had you soaked them.
Soaking beans isn't that hard, you can either soak them before you go to bed, or before you start work that morning. Bigger beans need a longer soak, so that may change your bean preference.
Soften the Butter Carefully
But first, set a stick of butter out to soften. I tried making this with less than softened butter and it was very annoying. You don't want to melt the butter into liquid either, so if you have time, waiting is best. For the impatient, give the butter stick a head start in the microwave for about 20 seconds.
Preserved Lemon Butter Beans
Ingredients
- 1 cup dry butter beans
- unsalted butter
- 1 preserved lemon rinsed
Instructions
Prepare the Beans
- After the beans have soaked for 6-12 hours, rinse them under cold water to remove the sugars that may linger on them.
- Cook the beans using your preferred bean cooking method. Mine is in the Instant Pot. In this case, put the beans and enough water to cover them by 1 inch in the Instant Pot. Set it for 25 minutes on Manual, and set the lid to sealing. Let the pressure release naturally.
- Drain the beans and set aside, keep warm.
Make the Compound Butter
- While the beans are cooking, make the compound butter.
- Start with one stick of softened, unsalted butter and place into a mixing bowl that gives you enough room to mash in the preserved lemons.
- Rinse one preserved lemon off, and shake off as much water as you can. Cut away the flesh. Remove any seeds.
- Use a fork to mash the lemon flesh into the butter, or put both the butter and preserved lemon flesh into a food processor to combine that way.
- If you want more lemony flavor, cut some of the rind into smaller pieces and mash in, but taste it frequently. Preserved lemons have a stronger flavor than you'd think.
- Use a rubber spatula to manipulate the butter-lemon mixture into a log shape, and wrap in plastic wrap. Add whatever you're going to use to your lima beans right away, and wrap the rest tightly and refrigerate.
Combine Butter and Beans
- For every cup of warm beans, add 1-2 tablespoons of compound butter. Mix thoroughly, and add pepper to taste. You probably won't need salt, since the lemons carry the saltiness from being preserved in salt.
- Garnish with slices of preserved lemon rind, if you like.
The best part about this recipe is how it's so customizable to your tastes. If you like a lot of lemon, add more. If you like less buttery butter beans, cut back on the butter. But in the end, you get a zippy, interesting dish that will bring a little zest and lightness to your dinner.
Need More Uses for Preserved Lemon?
