Lima bean and Swiss chard salad
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Large dried lima beans are a good base for this simple dish. When cooked, the beans have a rich, almost meaty taste to them and enough heft to make this a main-course salad.
Be sure to reserve some of the bean cooking liquid to make the dressing. With just a small amount of broth and good-quality olive oil, it’s lower in fat than some vinaigrettes and dressings.
The steamed carrots and Swiss chard give the salad a nice fall appearance, and it can be made a few hours ahead and kept at room temperature, covered, until ready to serve.
Lima beans
Rinse the limas under running water, then place them in a 5-quart saucepot. Add the water, garlic, onion and 1 teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook, partially covered, just until tender but not mushy, 40 to 50 minutes. Drain the beans, reserving 1/4 cup of the cooking water for the dressing. Remove the onion. Place the beans in a large bowl and set aside.
Salad
Steam the carrots in a covered steamer over boiling water until the carrots are tender, about 15 minutes. Remove them from the steamer and let cool to warm.
Remove the white center stalks from the chard. Cut the chard leaves into 2-inch pieces. Add them to the steamer and steam until the chard is wilted, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the chard from the steamer and let cool while preparing the rest of the salad.
Add the carrots and chard to the bowl of lima beans. Stir in the chopped onion, garlic, dill and 1 teaspoon of salt. Combine the olive oil, lemon juice, broth and 1/4 cup reserved bean cooking water. Pour the dressing over the beans. Lightly toss the salad just until the ingredients are mixed.
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