Mexican Lima Chiles

Ingredients
1 lb dry large lima beans
3 c water
1 Tbsp butter
1 small onion, sliced
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 clove garlic, smashed
3 chicken bouillon cubes
1/4 tsp basil
1/4 tsp oregano
2 (4-oz) cans whole mild green chiles
2 c grated cheddar cheese
3/4 c sour cream

Method
Rinse lima beans, soak overnight, drain. Cook with the butter, onion, salt, pepper, garlic and bouillon cubes until tender, about 45 minutes. Drain, reserving 3/4 cup liquid.
Spread one third of the beans in a shallow casserole. Sprinkle with half the basil and oregano. Cut chiles lengthwise, then crosswise. Arrange over the beans, and spread one third of the cheese over top. Repeat layers, ending with the beans and the last portion of the cheese.
Mix bean liquid and sour cream until smooth. Pour evenly over top. Bake uncovered at 325 °F (160–165 °C) for 30 to 40 minutes or until beans are tender. Makes 8 servings.

Source
Clipped from newspaper. Probably sometime in the 1970s or early 1980s.

Comments
Not Mexican at all in spite of the name, but looks tasty anyway. I can see why I clipped this so many years ago. Still intend to try it.
Why this dish is clearly not Mexican:

• lima beans (do they even exist in Mexico? Not as far as I know.)
• beans cooked with butter (not done)
• basil and oregano (never used in dishes of this type)
• cheddar cheese (not used in Mexico, is an exotic import)

When I make it, I will have to use fava beans  (habas) or alubias; these are the closest thing we have to lima beans. For the chiles, I’ll buy poblano chiles in the market, and toast, sweat and peel them.

UPDATE: I made this recipe (sort of) and it was very good. See this post.

Cuban Beans and Rice

Ingredients
1 lb black beans
1/2 c olive oil
1 c chopped onion
1 green pepper, chopped
1 clove garlic
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 smoked ham hock, about 1 lb
1/4 c red vinegar
4 c cooked rice
3 hard-cooked eggs, cut into wedges
1 red onion, sliced into rings

Method
Wash beans, cover with 6 c water in a large saucepan and bring to a boil..
Cook onions, green pepper and garlic in olive oil for 5 minutes. Add to beans along with salt, pepper, ham hock and vinegar. Return to boil, lower heat, cover and simmer until beans are almost soft, 1 to 2 hours (depends on age of beans). Remove ham hock, continue cooking beans until tender. Remove the meat from the bone and shred. Return to pot. Serve beans over hot rice and garnish with egg wedges and raw onion rings. Makes 8 servings.

Source
Clipped from newspaper. Probably sometime in the 1970s or early 1980s.

Comments

• Nowadays you can google up a hundred recipes for Cuban black beans and compare them and choose the one you like the best, or the most authentic. I collected this long ago in the pre-internet era, when my sources of “exotic ethnic” recipes were few.
• A quick search of  Cuban black bean recipes shows many versions which add a couple of bay leaves, some cumin, and a teaspoon of sugar, and omit the ham and eggs.
• I wouldn’t make it with so much oil nowadays!
• What’s with the “red vinegar”? Red wine vinegar?
• If you wanted, you could make this vegetarian by leaving out the ham (and adding a few drops of smoke flavouring), or vegan by also leaving out the eggs.