Peru's ancient Moche civilization (circa AD 100-800) used the large, flat beans in their cooking. Lima beans grow in pods like other legumes, including beans, peas, chickpeas, lentils, and peanuts.

To cook dried lima beans: Rinse beans off and sort through them, discarding any stones. Then bring the batch to a boil in salted water, and boil for about 10 minutes.

Corn and Lima Bean Soup With Andouille. Total time: 35 minutes. 4 servings (makes about 6 cups) This shoulder-season soup features sweet corn, buttery baby lima beans and smoky andouille sausage.

“I have had plenty of lima beans that are not seasoned well or not cooked well,” chef and food writer Amethyst Ganaway said in a video call. “It’s just absolutely terrible.” ...

While cooked lima beans are safe to eat, raw lima beans contain toxic compounds called cyanogenic glycosides, which break down into hydrogen cyanide, a compound that’s toxic to humans.

“I cooked lima beans until they were really soft with butter like mashed potatoes,” Erwin said. She said the dinner is trying to showcase the lima bean and pay tribute to the American South. Chef ...

Even though I adore eating them, I couldn’t remember the last time I’d cooked lima beans, but, on a whim, I purchased a bag of the frozen green baby beans some months ago.