Top Times recipes of 2008: Dandelion greens and Christmas lima bean tacos

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There are few combinations in cooking more natural and flexible than beans and greens. That’s what staff writer Amy Scattergood found when exploring twists on these two fundamental ingredients.

These inventive dandelion greens and Christmas lima bean tacos were our favorites of several very good dishes she came up with. The beans are earthy and rich; the greens are bitter with a slight bite -- just a few of the reasons its lands at No. 2 in our countdown of our favorite recipes of 2008.

On top of that, the combination is prettier than heck -- the dark green of the wilted leaves against the speckled, almost chocolate brown of the beans. If you can’t find Christmas limas, you can substitute regular limas or even other beans such as pinto or Northern (though they won’t be nearly as pretty).

Here’s where we are with the rest of our countdown.