Corn and Lima Bean Ragout
Adapted from Deborah Madison's Cookbook, "Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone", this is a unique dish perfect for summertime when fresh butter beans are available. I like to serve it with biscuits, but it's also good with cornbread, rice, or on its own.
Adapted from Deborah Madison's Cookbook, "Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone", this is a unique dish perfect for summertime when fresh butter beans are available. I like to serve it with biscuits, but it's also good with cornbread, rice, or on its own.
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 tbsp butter
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 4 tbsp parsley chopped
- 1 1/2 cup fresh butter beans
- 1 bunch scallions thinly sliced
- 1 onion finely diced (use remaining onion from above)
- 1 cups corn kernels fresh or frozen
- 2 tbsp chopped basil preferably purple
- 1 tbsp herbs de provence or thyme
- 4 cups fresh carrot juice
- 2 tomatoes peeled, seeded and diced
- Carbohydrate 96.0248340875271 g
- Cholesterol 7.62578125327025 mg
- Fat 4.97121125317192 g
- Fiber 21.3674328134575 g
- Protein 40.6706345573059 g
- Saturated Fat 2.18427072351939 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (830g)
- Sodium 10682.7867513209 mg
- Sugar 74.6574012740696 g
- Trans Fat 0.679022468537226 g
- Calories 555 calories
Step-by-step
- Melt the butter in a large flat-bottomed pan with medium-high sides (you will be cooking a fairly large volume before reducing down to the final ragu, so you will need some space). Saute onion, red pepper flakes, and corn until beginning to color, about 2 minutes.
- Add tomatoes and cook until starting to break down and become saucy.
- Add beans, 1/2 the fresh herbs, Herbs de Provence, paprika, soy sauce and carrot juice. Bring to a simmer and cook until the beans are tender and the carrot juice sauce has reduced to a thickened ragu, about the consistency of coconut milk. This will take about 30 minutes or so over medium heat. You want enough of the delicious sauce to soak up with the biscuits, but you want to concentrate the flavors enough so it isn't soupy.
- Season with pepper, garnish with remaining herbs and serve!
Carrot juice operates as the primary engine in this preparation, substituting for traditional stock by delivering concentrated natural sugars and starches that thicken into a rich glaze when exposed to sustained heat. Reducing four cups of liquid down to the consistency of coconut milk requires maintaining a steady medium heat over a flat-bottomed pan, ensuring the moisture evaporates evenly without scorching the dissolved solids. Because raw carrot juice contains high levels of pectin and simple sugars, the reduction thickens naturally as the water content dissipates over thirty minutes.
Fresh butter beans and young corn kernels introduce entirely different structural behaviors compared to their frozen or dried counterparts. Fresh legumes possess intact cell walls that hold moisture differently, requiring precise simmering time until the starches inside fully gelatinize and yield a tender bite. Frozen corn releases excess water upon cellular rupture during thawing, which must be cooked off aggressively in the initial two minutes with the diced onions and red pepper flakes before tomatoes enter the pan.
Tomatoes contribute vital enzymatic activity and free glutamates, breaking down during the sauté phase to emulsify the butter and rendered vegetable juices into a cohesive sauce base. Peeling and seeding the tomatoes beforehand prevents excess water dilution and eliminates bitter pectin compounds found in the gelatinous seed cavities. This moisture control ensures the final reduction phase concentrates flavor rather than fighting against watery produce.
Herbs and aromatics require strategic staging to preserve their volatile essential oils against heat degradation during the long reduction process. Adding half the fresh parsley and basil early infuses the simmering liquid, while reserving the remaining herbs as a raw garnish provides sharp aromatic contrast against the sweet, concentrated reduction of the carrot base.
