Rainbow Chard and Lima Bean Bruschetta

Dear Devon,

My friend Rebecca is seeking her natural path. Her nutritionist has given her a series of food challenges, which require her to avoid foods like cake, dairy, pizza, eggs, tofu, sugar, gluten, and processed foods. So what's left to eat? Surprisingly, a lot of tasty stuff. I offered to help her create tasty dishes within her dietary restrictions. The trick is to create a meal that is healthy, satisfying, and easily repeated.

Rebecca loves hummus. At one point, the only contents of her fridge were carrots and hummus. While hummus falls within the strict guidelines of her challenge, it is often a highly processed food. When it comes to pureed beans, chickpeas get all the attention. But the world of legumes has more to offer than nutty chickpeas. I have always been a fan of beans. Lentils are my personal favorite, but in recent months I have been experimenting with lima beans. I have yet to be disappointed with my local supermarket's selection of dried beans: They have an entire aisle of beans!


After making lima beans a few times, pureeing them seemed like a logical next step. Lima beans are almost a contradiction in terms. They are starchy, almost paste-like but have a rich, buttery texture. These qualities seem ripe for a hummus-esque side dish. The starchiness gives weight to the dish, while the buttery texture allows for a smooth, even spread. A generous tablespoon of fresh dill and pinch of cumin adds a bit of dark, spicy flavoring, while fresh lemon juice provides a bright contrast to the deep flavors. Ground sesame seeds provided an extra bit of toasted nuttiness.

I found this beautiful rainbow chard at the Union Square green market. I didn't go to the market with the intention of buying chard, but the vibrantly colored stalks and large leaves caught my eye. Rebecca was the person who first brought chard to my attention. She didn't know how to cook it, and neither did I, but it still tasted fantastic. Since then, I've discovered that quickly braising the greens, drizzling them with olive oil, and lightly sprinkling them with salt makes an amazingly satisfying side dish. It seemed only appropriate that I somehow incorporate Swiss chard into Rebecca's diet.

I came up with the idea of turning this into a bruschetta because I didn't want my healthy food to end up looking like "hippie" food, an unflattering stereotype to say the least. I didn't want to hide the rustic, natural quality of the dish- I wanted to show that it could be elegant without being overly-fussy. I think the results are pretty stunning, but I'll let you decide. The French bread is lightly oiled and grilled, then generously spread with a thick layer of lima bean puree and casually topped with dark green braised chard. I tossed some lima beans onto the presentation plate, so we don't forget what's in the spread. It's healthy food, it's vegan but it's not dusty cardboard wafers or hemp milk.

Rainbow Chard Lima Bread Bruschetta

1 pound Swiss Chard

1 cup lima bean, dried
4 cups water
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp salt

1/2 lime, juice
1 tbsp fresh dill
1/4 tsp cumin
2 tbsp sesame seeds, crushed
1/3 -1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 tsp white pepper
1/4 tsp salt
3 cloves garlic

1 baguette

There are many ways to cook dried beans. I've said before that I don't know which way is the best. But this seems to work well: Pour four cups water and one cup dried lima beans into a large pot. Add one bay leaf. Bring to a boil. Once at a boil, lower to simmer and cover with a tight fitting lid. Simmer until beans are al dente. At the very end, add salt. Drain the beans and set aside to cool. It can take 1 to 2 hours, just watch the pot, burned beans are not a good thing.

Pick over the cooked beans, removing about 20 of the nicest looking beans. Set aside. Place remaining cooled beans into the workbowl of a food processor. Add lemon juice, crushed sesame seeds, cumin, white pepper, and salt and two cloves of garlic. With the machine set at puree, gradually add olive oil through the feed tube. The mixture should be thick and smooth. Taste for saltiness and richness. Add more olive oil, if needed. Remove mixture to a bowl and fold in chopped dill.

In another pan, heat up a splash of olive oil. Remove thick stalk of chard. Cut into two inch slices. Gently fry chopped garlic until the oil is nicely perfumed. raise chard, about 10 minutes.
Slice baguette on a diagonal. Lightly brush both sides with olive oil and place on a hot grill. Do not touch the sliced bread once on the grill. This will ensure your blackened grill marks. Grill evenly on both sides.

Generously spoon lima bean puree onto grilled bread in one even layer. Pile on braised rainbow chard. Top with whole lima beans. Finish with a light drizzle of olive oil and a squeeze of lemon.


PS. I wasn't entirely successful. I forgot Becs can't eat bread- turns out this lima bean spread is great over cucumbers and with carrots too!