Fordhooked
April 29, 2009
As a test kitchen home eccie, I get a big kick out of back of the box recipes. Some are just so weird; it’s hard to imagine the thought behind them. For example, here’s the first serving suggestion on the back of a bag of Publix frozen Fordhook lima beans:
“Cook with pork chops, ketchup, curry powder and salt.”
I’m still laughing. Anyone in the mood for Fordhooks?
Hey, bean packers, good news, peas and beans of all kinds are really trendy in restaurants right now. Come on, get with it! Not long ago R.B. and I had a nice little dinner at City House in Nashville where we enjoyed this little rustic Italian starter:
Zucchini, Fava, Red Onion, Pecorino, Lemon
The unexpected cool thing about the dish was that the favas were mashed into a puree and topped with thin slices of crisp zucchini, red onion slivers and a snowy dusting of grated Pecorino. Here the lines blur between a hummus-style appetizer and a vegetable bean salad.
How about that with delicious creamy Fordhooks? Fantastic. Our recipe includes a little fresh parsley for kicks and we forgot to add the cheese before taking the picture. Try it with any salty cheese, even feta. Or, maybe add a few briny olives. Serve it with grilled bread as a nice antipasto or as a side to simply grilled meats, chicken or fish.
Fordhook Zucchini Salad with Lemon
1 (16-ounce) bag frozen Fordhook lima beans
¼ cup olive oil
Juice from two lemons, a few tablespoons
1 medium zucchini
¼ cup slivered red onion
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
Kosher salt, to taste
Shredded Parmesan, Pecorino or even crumbled feta cheese, to taste
Prepare limas according to package directions, until very soft. Drain the warm lima beans, reserving some of the cooking liquid. Put the limas in a medium bowl with about ½ cup of the cooking liquid and mash with a fork or potato masher until lumpy/smooth. Season the beans with about 2 tablespoons of the lemon juice and stir in additional cooking liquid until the puree is not too heavy feeling.
Thinly slice the zucchini on a cheap v-slicer mandolin and cut the rings in half. Combine the zucchini, onions and parsley in a small bowl and toss to taste with lemon juice and salt.
Spread the lima puree in a large flat bowl. Scatter the zucchini onion mix over the limas. Sprinkle with the cheese. Serve as a salad/side or appetizer with grilled bread. Makes about 6 servings.
Get tips for making perfect skillet cornbread. It's the only bread to serve with summer fresh vegetable suppers. 
June 12th, 2010 at 9:12 am
Mindy, I’ve been fordhooked since a child when my Mom served them with fried bologna and her “eggy” mac and cheese – - I consider them to be the “other white meat” bc they are so, well, meaty! Anyway, I think I told you about my Succotash Pasta recipe which is so easy to whip up for a quick weeknite dinner. I’ll give you the rundown again.
Succotash Pasta
1 box of pasta (I like penne, bowtie, shells)
1+ cup frozen Fordhooks
1 cup frozen corn
1 sweet bell pepper (I like the orange one) diced
1 clove garlic minced – - optional
1 Tbs butter
1 Tbs olive oil
Handfull of chopped mixed herbs – - basil, thyme, rosemary, mint optional
Zest of one lemon optional
1/4 cup heavy cream optional
1/2 cup grated parmesean optional
Cook pasta in big pot salted water as usuall.
When pasta is about half done, stir in limas and corn
By the time water returns to boil and pasta is al dente the veg should be cooked as well.
While cooking pasta, melt butter in saute pan and add olive oil and garlic if desired. ( I don’t always want garlic for a week nite dinner).
Strain pasta mixture and put into large bowl.
Add butter and olive oil and toss.
Salt and pepper to taste and that’s it for basic recipe.
Add optional ingrediants as desired to jazz it up but the basic recipe is killer and easy.
A great accompaniment is garlic herb toast which can be made by increasing the butter and olive to 3 Tbs each, melt, add garlic and herbs then takes slices of Italian bread and dip into mixture on one side, place on cookie sheet, and toast till golden. Then take leftover butter and herb mixture and add to the pasta.
Serve with a grilled caesar (sans croutons) and a glass of New Zealand sauvblanc and you’ll forget how far away the weekend is!!!!
June 12th, 2010 at 1:48 pm
I know what I’m fixing for dinner tonight. I remember you telling me about this. Thanks for the recipe!