Lima Beans with Ham over Rice
Recipe by By: Mama Flo (Florence O’Donnell), Planet Follywood
Ingredients:
• 2 lbs Dry Large Limas
• Ham Bone with the Meat & Fat
• 2 Cups Onions, Chopped Fine
• 1/2 Cup of Bacon Drippings
with a Fried Piece of Bacon
• Ham or Chicken Stock
• Bay Leaves
• Black Pepper
• Hot Sauce
• 2 Cups of Rice
• Salt
Directions:
For The Beans
1. Soak beans overnight (do not quick soak!).
2. Drain beans, rinse.
3. Sauté onions in bacon drippings with ham fat.
4. Salt onions when soft.
5. Put beans, onions, 4 bay leaves, ham with bone and stock in a pot, cover.
6. Add black pepper and hot sauce to taste.
7. Cook until tender.
For the Rice:
1. Heat 4 tablespoons of bacon grease.
2. Add 2 cups of rice,
4 cups of chicken stock,
2 bay leaves.
3. Salt to taste.
4. Cover and bring to boil.
5. Stir with a fork to separate rice
6. Turn down to low, cover, and cook for 20 minutes.
7. Stir with fork.
It’s not just everyone who knows the secret to making good rice. Yours might come out too soft, too sticky, or too soupy, but Mama Flo tells us it’s easy: Just stick to the 2-to-1 ratio (2 cups liquid to 1 cup rice, or 4-to-2, etc.); BACON DRIPPINGS; and of course, NO PEEKING! She says whatever you do, don’t pick up the lid! Mama Flo started cooking as a child, learning the Italian family recipes from her older siblings. Her debut in the restaurant business was at 18 when she and her brother opened a sandwich shop in Philly. And once she moved to Charleston she ran a string of Folly Beach restaurants and bars until she and her grandson, Folly Beach City Councilman D.j. Rich started Planet Follywood a decade ago. Today, Mama Flo can be found in the kitchen most mornings prepping before heading off to exercise class. She whips up breakfast favorites like french toast, omelettes, homemade sausage gravy, and home fries on Saturday and Sunday mornings, and if you can keep her out of the kitchen long enough, she might even share a cup of coffee with you and tell you stories about “old” Folly Beach. — Lindsey Chambers
