I purchased some terrific looking and extremely fresh patani (lima beans) at the Nasugbu market last Saturday and was trying to figure out what to do with them. A classic 
preparation for fresh green peas in Italy is to sauté them with some bits of prosciutto and a similar treatment is given to other kinds of legumes… Back at the beach house, I decided to experiment, and totally without any guidance from a cookbook, internet (no access), or even the phone to check with someone… I briefly blanched the freshly harvested patani in boiling water (say around 5 minutes), peeled the tough outer layer/skin off to reveal the beautiful green beans inside (see them in the food processor post here) and put about two cups full into the food processor…
I added some water from the pot the beans were boiled in (say two splashes, add more as you see the consistency after blitzing a bit), and lots of salt and blitzed the beans. 
I slowly drizzled in olive oil until I had a thick but smoothish spread. I put this patani spread on some saltine crackers and topped this impromptu pica-pica snack with some nicely crisped bacon… it was really QUITE GOOD! I suspect doing this right must involve adding some other ingredients, perhaps spices but I liked the almost pure taste of the pureed patani. I would never have guessed that I could concoct such an elegant and good-looking appetizer with a PHP20 peso purchase of fresh patani combined with everyday crackers and some bits of bacon…
10 Responses
maybe you can add some ground white pepper to add flavor.. Looks so delicious.
this is nice MM. . . i make bean spread with the local white beans usually sold in markets, but patani will be great, i’ll try this soon. . .
How about making it into something similar like Hummus? However, instead of lemon juice, you could use Calamansi for a local touch :)
serendipity, MM! you’ve hit upon another winner! look fabulous and delicious. maybe another variation would be to add mint leaves, or scallions? am thinking green upon green. love the bowl, too!
gosh! i just cooked sauteed fried tilapia, patani and kalabasa yesterday and it was so tasty. i can’t wait to try your recipe since patani is my fave veggie. very innovative, MM!
Let’s talk about weird. I bought some lima beans at the market Saturday “just because”…and now you have a recipe…hooray! I almost fell off my chair when I read your comment on my post! I love bean dips so more recipes are always welcome :) “serious deja vu in the air”…I’ll say!
I was actually thinking about doing what you describe above as a “classic Italian preparation” with some bacon, as I had something similar in Spain and have been dying to replicate it…any tips? Should I blanch the beans first before I sauté?
Joey, I would definitely blanch first and peel if Lima beans, then use good olive oil and pancetta or prosciutto. Some salt and freshly cracked black pepper. I am making “imbento” here but another version might feature butter, lima beans, and grated parmesan?? Yum. In Italy, the piselli with prosciutto are really small fresh peas…they are utterly delicious but I have never cooked them myself…and I don’t think those are blanched! Millet, yes some scallions might work… Bubut, white pepper – brilliant! mclimtrp, kalamansi or dayap might “freshen” it up…
Thanks Marketman! Got it! :) The butter and grated parmesan way sounds fantastic too! Will have to try both…thanks!!!
I had two dishes in Spain like this: one in Barcelona that had beans called habas (some say lima some say fava) with ceps, and another in Malaga which were called habitas (smaller beans) which was served sauteed with bacon/pancetta.
That does look very attractive. Contrasting colors and textures in bite-sizes, yum!
Great innovative work!