Lima Beans in Olive Sauce

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            FOOD FUNNY
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This one is from Fran Ng who says she's my "#1 fan." Thanks Fran.

Checking the menu, a restaurant customer ordered a bowl of
vegetable soup. After a couple of spoonfuls, he saw a circle of
wetness right under the bowl on the tablecloth. He called the
waitress over and said, "It's all wet down here. The bowl must
be cracked."

The waitress said, "You ordered vegetable soup, didn't you?"

"Yes."

"Maybe it has a leek in it!"

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            TODAY'S RECIPE
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East meets West in this Peruvian dish with New World lima beans
and Old World olives. Use good quality olives because they set
the tone for this unusual combination of flavors.

Lima Beans in Olive Sauce (Habas en Salsa de Aceitunas)

1 dried ancho pepper, seeds and stem discarded
1 dried hot pepper (optional)
1/2 inch (1 cm) piece fresh ginger, chopped
1 cup (250 ml) warm water
1 cup (250 ml) chopped, pitted Kalamata or alfonso olives
1 lb (450 g) frozen lima beans, cooked according to
package directions
2 Tbs (30 ml) olive oil
2-3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

Tear the dried chiles into small pieces, combine with the ginger
and warm water in a small bowl and soak for 15 minutes. Place
the chiles, ginger, and soaking liquid in an electric blender or food
processor. Add the olives and about 1/4 of the cooked lima beans
and puree until smooth, adding a little water if necessary. Heat
the oil in a skillet over moderate heat and saute the garlic until
lightly browned. Add the pureed mixture and cook, stirring frequently,
until most of the liquid has evaporated, 5 to 10 minutes. Add the
remaining beans and cook until heated through. Serves 4 to 6.
Received on Wed May 24 07:48:28 2006