Lima Bean and Porcini Soup
Published February 24, 2009
Francesco Tonelli for The New York Times
- Total Time
- 1 hour 45 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
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Ingredients
1 large celery stalk, finely chopped
1 large carrot, unpeeled, finely chopped
1 large onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Salt to taste
½ pound dried lima beans, soaked overnight and drained
½ cup pearl barley
1 pound meaty lamb neck or beef shin bones
¾ ounce dried porcini mushrooms
4 thyme sprigs
1 bay leaf
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon minced shallot
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)
33 grams carbs; 41 milligrams cholesterol; 323 calories; 5 grams monosaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 5 grams saturated fat; 14 grams fat; 9 grams fiber; 333 milligrams sodium; 18 grams protein; 4 grams sugar
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
In a soup pot, combine celery, carrot, onion, garlic, olive oil and salt. Cover and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 10 minutes. Add lima beans, barley, 8 cups water, bones, porcini, thyme and bay leaf, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, until beans are tender, about 1 ½ hours.
- Step 2
Discard thyme sprigs and bay leaf. Remove bones, remove meat from bones, chop meat and return meat to soup. Taste and add salt if needed. Ladle soup into bowls and season with pepper. Garnish with shallot and parsley, and serve.
Private Notes
Comments
The beans, bones and barley will throw some scum so it's helpful to add those, bring to the boil and skim before adding the herbs and mushrooms.
Delicious. Made it vegan. Added some fresh mushrooms and scallions and Trader Joe’s umami powder. Finished w drops of sherry vinegar.
I look forward to making this soup every year, and I have made it numerous times, as my supermarket always seems to have lamb and beef bones on clearance. I used pinto beans today, as that was what I had on hand, and I always use leftover broth from cooking usually dried chickpeas, flavored only with bay leaves, instead of water to add depth of flavor and nutrition. Do try to use porcini mushrooms if you can find them, as they add a lovely smokiness. Wonderful to smell them simmering.
Doubled recipe and made vegetarian-used 4 oz dried mixed mushrooms, 2 tsp dried thyme instead of fresh, 4 cups veggie stock/3 cups mushroom soaking liquid with 1 Tbspn of miso paste mixed in/1 cup white wine, scallions instead of shallot. Skimmed foam off while simmering.
Made with Christmas lima beans and subbed Farro instead of barley. I'm vegan, so no meat. I liked it, but the flavor felt like it was missing something.
I accidentally used fresh frozen baby lima beans, making this dish very sweet. I had to counter it with salt, some cumin, and I ended up dicing up some smoked spanish chorizo. It worked out in the end but just a heads up - use regular lima beans instead!