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Succotash has reminded me of Sylvester from the Looney Tunes cartoons and his famous catch phrase "Sufferin succotash" ever since I heard of this one pot wonder. This simple dish originated in New England, USA prior to becoming popular in the southern United States and it was also a common meal in the Depression era. Succotash is essentially a meal of corn and lima beans although there are variations aplenty with additions such as tomatoes, capsicums/bell peppers, okra, other types of beans, butter, margarine, lard, bacon, fresh and dried herbs.
With some freshly harvested broad beans (also known as fava beans) from the garden begging to be used and corn and okra in the fridge I decided to make a version of succotash. I didn't follow a particular recipe, instead my broad beans, corn, okra and tomatoes were plonked into a pot and stirred every so often. It had been a long day labouring in the garden and we were tired and hungry so I didn't bother with double peeling the broad beans to save on time. Finely chopped basil and parsley along with margarine and seasonings were stirred through in the final minute before serving.
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We really enjoyed the succotash and I was particularly fond of the addition of basil in my version. I could envisage this becoming a semi-regular side dish over the summer months when corn is at the height of it's season. It was a perfect accompaniment for our extra spicy buffalo tofu and oven baked potato wedges. The leftovers were just as lovely when eaten cold the next day which leads me to believe that it would also work well as a salad.
Succotash
4 small corn cobs
1 1/2 cups broad/fava beans (or use fresh lima beans)
100g okra pods, sliced into 3cm pieces (optional)
2 large tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon dairy-free margarine
12 large basil leaves, finely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, finely chopped
sea salt and freshly ground cracked black pepper, to taste
Cut the corn kernels off the cobs and place into a medium-large saucepan with the broad beans, okra and tomatoes. Simmer over a medium heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes have broken down and the vegetables are tender. Stir through the margarine, basil and parsley then season with salt and pepper, to taste.
I just saw succotash recently on not quite nigella and was quite taken by it - hers had bacon so I quite fancied trying some crispy tofu bacon in it - sounds like a great vegie accompaniment
ReplyDeleteThanks Johanna, I'm sure it would be lovely with some tofu bacon too. I aim to keep my flavours simple (including using minimal salt) when cooking garden produce so we can really savour it.
DeleteYour own broad bean harvest! That's so cool
ReplyDeleteThanks Cindy, I was thrilled with my first attempt at growing broad beans and will definitely be planting more next autumn. :)
DeleteI'm a sucker for succotash but I don't think I've ever made it before. I love the idea of using fava beans instead of limas though--totally going to try that this spring!
ReplyDeleteThanks Jes, succotash doesn't seem to get that much of a mention (on the American blogs I follow anyway) which is a shame as I think it's a really lovely dish.
DeleteCongratulations on your garden produce! I have to confess to never hearing of succotash but by the sounds of it, I'd love it - all great things in the ingredient list. Your version sounds excellent too!
ReplyDeleteThanks Kari, the produce from the garden is a fair bit of work (and patience) for the relatively low yields we have had, so every morsel is thoroughly appreciated. I'm sure you would love succotash, it's a great dish :D
DeleteThanks for clearing that one up - I'd never known what succotash was until today. But now I know what it is, I'm kind of surprised it looks pretty good! (You've also solved the mystery of what lima bean were too!) I could definitely see okra going really well with it.
ReplyDeleteThanks Joey, I didn't know succotash was an actual dish until a couple of years ago when I first spotted a recipe. I must confess to not being the biggest fan of lima beans so the broad beans were an ideal substitute and the okra was a welcome addition too.
DeleteSuccotash reminds me of Punky Brewster. There's an episode where George is teaching Cheri's grandma how to drive, but he starts her off on the couch, with a can of succotash for the brakes. Then when they move to the car, and she's about to drive into a tree (or something), he yells "succotash! SUCCOTASH!!!" The details are a bit fuzzy, but I always think of that before Sylvester :)
ReplyDeleteOh wow, I don't recall much about Punky Brewster apart from my younger sister being obsessed with the show. I only watched it every now and then and remember being totally infatuated with the gorgeous shaggy dog. It's funny that succotash reminds you of an episode from it!
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