Ham And Lima Bean Salad With Maple Thyme Dressing

Total Time: 15 mins Preparation Time: 15 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 6
• 2 cups lima beans
• 3 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 1/2 lbs ham, cut into 1/2 inch dice
• 1 cup corn oil
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 1/3 cup cider vinegar
• 3 tablespoons fresh thyme, finely minced
• 5 medium carrots, peeled and sliced thin
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 head red-leaf lettuce, separated into leaves, washed and patted dry
• 1 medium red onion, peeled and sliced into rings

Recipe

• 1 in a large bowl, combine the beans with cold water to cover them by at least three inches. soak overnight. drain the beans and transfer them to a large, heavy pot. add fresh cold water to cover by at least three inches, set over medium heat, and bring to a boil. lower the heat and simmer, uncovered, stirring once or twice, for 25 minutes. stir in 2 teaspoons of the salt and continue to cook gently until the beans are just tender, 15 to 25 minutes longer. drain and transfer to a bowl.
• 2 in a large skillet over medium heat combine the ham and 3 tablespoons of the corn oil.
• 3 cook, tossing and stirring often, until the ham is crisp and brown, 6 to 8 minutes. with a slotted spoon, transfer the ham to the bowl with the beans. do not clean the pan.
• 4 set the skillet over hight heat and stir in the maple syrup, cider vinegar and the remaining corn oil. bring to a boil, stirring and scraping to dissolve any browned bits from the bottom of the skillet. stir in the thyme, boil 1 minutes and pour the hot dressing over the ham and beans. add the carrots and stir. season with the remaining salt and a generous grind of black pepper and stir again. cool to room temperature, cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
• 5 bring the salad to return to room temperature. adjust the seasoning. serve on lettuce leaves and top with red onion.