Mixed Beans With Bacon and Almonds

"Posted for Zaar World Tour 2005. Although green beans have often been paired with either bacon or almonds, I've never seen a recipe for them both until I found one in a cookbook called The New Irish Table. They enhance one another quite nicely in this recipe, and it's very easy and quick to make. Imitation bacon has the smokey flavor of regular bacon, but fewer calories. I've included instructions (such as they are) for both. Butter beans and lima beans are from the same family. If you can't find frozen butter beans (favas), canned are fine but don't cook as long. They don't suggest browning the almonds, but you could do so in a 350F oven for 5 minutes or until visibly browned."
 
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photo by mersaydees photo by mersaydees
photo by mersaydees
photo by BLUE ROSE photo by BLUE ROSE
photo by BLUE ROSE photo by BLUE ROSE
photo by kiwidutch photo by kiwidutch
photo by kiwidutch photo by kiwidutch
Ready In:
25mins
Ingredients:
8
Serves:
6
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ingredients

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directions

  • If using imitation bacon, use one of the methods included on the package to obtain the desired consistency (soft or crisp).
  • If using regular bacon, cook in a small skillet over medium heat until crisp. Using a slotted spatula, transfer to paper towels to drain.
  • Add the sugar snap peas and green beans to a large saucepan of salted boiling water and cook for 3-4 minutes. Drain, rinse in cold water, and drain again. Set aside.
  • Cook the butter beans and lima beans in boiling salted water for about 8 minutes or until tender. Drain.
  • Combine peas and beans in serving bowl, crumble bacon on top, and sprinkle with the almonds. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil.

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Reviews

  1. This knocked my socks off! This is so simple and delicious! I used vegetarian bacon (DH complained bitterly about fake bacon! Who cares?!) and I accidentally used sugar peas instead of sugar snap peas -- there is a difference! My grocer didn't carry frozen butter beans, so I used canned ones and added them at the last minute with all the heated beans; worked out great! I cannot sing enough praises for this recipe! This is a contender for my Best of 2009 recipes. Thanks, Kumquat the Cat's friend! Made for <b>Vegetarian Recipe Swap</b>.
     
  2. A great recipe to try. I chose to use the real bacon in ours. I am tempted to try using imitation bacon the next time to see how good this comes out. Will be making this dish again. Thanks for posting this recipe for us all to try.
     
  3. Made this recipe as written & the result was a GREAT TASTING bean dish! Have never used butter beans before & seldom have limas, but the combination of all made for an interesting bean dish, while the addition of the bacon AND almonds was wonderful! Most enjoyable & definitely a keeper! [Tagged, made & reviewed in the Please Review My Recipe cooking game]
     
  4. Excellent. We loved these beans. The combination of bacon and almonds were what made these so special for us. Delicious side dish!
     
  5. an Excellent 5 stars ! Not knowing what imitation bacon was, ...sigh... we were forced to use the real stuff. Well, I mean DH becuase I assigned the recipe to him to make since I got home late. He used haricot vert instead of the thicker green beans and he wasn't brave enough to toast the almonds but it didn't matter, the result was still excellent. He boiled the beans for only just long enough to cook them though, there was still a discernable crunch which added a real freshness to the dish. The bacon and the bacon drippings heighten the taste of the vegetables and brings the various tastes together very well. He did pour off some of the excess grease before mixing so that nothing was swimming in it and this tasted so light and yummy that DH and I ate the whole lot as a main meal. When you love a particular veggie, and prepare it a lot, sometimes you just prepare them the same old, same old... this recipes pushes all those recipes aside. Please see my rating system: a recipe to be repeated.. often! DH didn't mutter about it being hard to follow so the instructions are well written and the taste is excellent, 5 stars for beans never needing to be boring ever again!Thanks!
     
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RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

<p>Clockwise from upper left, my dear friends Cranberry, Quincy, Kumquat and Kiwi. All of our cats were born in the wild and adopted by us. Zaar Chefs I have met so far: Elmotoo, justcallmeToni, ~Rita~, Midwest Maven, Bird&amp;Buddha (both of them) and most recently, Ms*Bindy from upstate New York:) Wonderful, sweet, friendly people and great chefs! Most relevant thing to mention here is that I am a vegetarian, and recently became a&nbsp;vegan&nbsp;(almost 100%). To put vegetables and other things not meat or fish on the table I work as an actuary (in my case anyway, a combination of statistician, number-cruncher and/or programmer). For fun I like to travel. Just came back from&nbsp;Namibia, a peaceful democracy in Africa with lots of animals! Got some terrific pictures of lions, leopards, cheetahs, elephants, rhinocerous, hyenas, all kinds of antelopes, giraffes and zebras. Namibia is the second most sparsely populated country per square mile, just behind Mongolia. Update:&nbsp; We went to Italy this Spring.&nbsp; We had lots of pizza and pasta.&nbsp; The pizza is so much better in Italy, particularly the crust.&nbsp; The Amalfi coast was absolutely beautiful.&nbsp; Spectacular natural scenery (Canada and Alaska are really beautiful, Patagonia in Chile is sublime, Iceland is unique) has been my latest passion as far as travel destinations but I have seen quite a few big cities too (Paris, Berlin, London and Madrid to name a few). On my bulletin board at work I keep a list of every country I've visited (other than the U.S. of course). So far I've made it to five continents: Europe, Africa, South America, Asia and North America of course. I've got only two other continents to conquer:) I don't usually have difficulty finding vegetarian dishes here in the U.S. or overseas, but finding vegan dishes is much harder. I have no kids, just cats, Kumquat, Cranberry, and more recently Quincy and Kiwi. They are purebreds, of the breed alley caticus (okay, American shorthair I guess). Our cats are not vegetarians, though my boyfriend (significant other, long-term partner, whatever) is. I am a friend of all animals both tamed and wild. In addition I am a freethinker and my boyfriend studies philosophy. Either way, we get along pretty well.&nbsp; Also, please allow me to say that my BF and I recently bought a condominium in NYC.:)&nbsp; Pet peeve? Okay, I don't like public scenes, especially parents yelling at their children, lovers' spats, etc. If it must be done please do it in private:D Participation &amp; Awards:</p>
 
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