• 2 cups cooked dry lima beans or 2 cups fresh, uncooked young lima beans
• 3 cups ‘Shoepeg’ corn or freshly grated sweet corn
• 1-1/2 cups chopped leeks or onions
• 1/2 cup celery, diced
• 2 cups cooked chicken, chopped
• 1 teaspoon grated nutmeg (or to taste)
• 1⁄2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
• 2 teaspoons dry marjoram, crumbled
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 8 ounces’ potpie noodles or lasagna broken into pieces
• 2 quarts well-flavored chicken stock
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Combine the beans, corn, leeks, celery, chicken, nutmeg, parsley and marjoram in a deep work bowl.
3. Salt and pepper, to taste.
4. In a tall 4-quart casserole or earthenware baking dish, spread 3 cups of the vegetable and chicken mixture on the bottom.
5. Make a layer of noodles, then cover with another 3 cups of mixture. Cover this with another layer of noodles, then add the remaining mixture and spread evenly.
6. Scatter noodles broken into small pieces over the top.
7. Add the chicken stock (just enough to cover the noodles and vegetables when pressed down gently with a fork).
8. Dot with butter (optional), and bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until the noodles are tender. Serve immediately with crusty, country-style bread.

Cooking Tip:

For readers who may be unfamiliar with this dish, potpie (or botboi in Pennsylfaanisch) is a square egg noodle that is used in cookery much like lasagna. If you can’t find Pennsylvania Dutch potpie noodles in your local store, you can make your own or use lasagna noodles, broken into pieces. You also can use the mixture without the noodles and bake it in traditional Yankee-style potpies with top crusts.

 Learn more about Lima Beans:

• ‘Jackson Wonder’ Lima Beans

Contributing editor William Woys Weaver shares his knowledge of rare, intriguing vegetables in his book Heirloom Vegetable Gardening: A Master Gardener’s Guide to Planting, Seed Saving, and Cultural History.