Country Lima Bean Soup

By cwyorkiex3

To speed up the cooking time, Grandma soaked the beans before she made her bean soup. She said discarding the soaking water would lower the beans' gas activity. Grandma stored her dried beans in an airtight container for up to a year.

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups dried lima beans or navy beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 1/2 cups water
• 4 ounces salt pork or fully cooked ham, chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped onion (about 1/4 large)
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon dried sage
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 cups milk
• 2 tablespoons butter

Details

Servings 6

Preparation

Step 1

1.Place lima beans in large saucepan; add enough water to cover beans. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 2 minutes. Remove from heat; cover and let stand for 1 hour. (Or, cover beans with water and soak overnight.)

2.Drain beans and return to saucepan. Stir in water, salt pork, chopped onion, oregano, salt, ginger, sage and black pepper.

3.Bring bean-and-pork mixture to a boil; reduce heat. Cover and gently simmer until beans are tender, 2 to 2 1/2 hours. (Add additional water during cooking, if necessary.)

4.Add milk and butter, stirring until mixture is heated through and butter is melted. Season with additional salt and black pepper, if desired.