the hungry tiger: Succotash

August 20, 2002

Succotash

The chief features of what Snark calls The World's Best Succotash are:

(1) Made with fresh baby lima beans and fresh corn off the cob
(2) Much tastier than succotash is supposed to be
(3) Contains secret ingredient
(4) Extraordinarily tasty
(5) Very tasty indeed
(6) Is long anticipated
(7) Is the reason why we cheer when the baby limas appear at the farmer's market
(8) Tasty

There are only a few cookbooks I would be truly distraught to lose. One of them is Home Cooking by Laurie Colwin, and another is the sequel, More Home Cooking. They are great to read and great to cook from, and I was terrified just a few minutes ago when I thought they had already been packed away for our move. Fortunately, they were not, and in great relief I turned to the recipe for succotash, which appears on page 61 of the latter and is certainly a work of genius. I was surprised to see, though, that I had changed it a good deal from the way it appears in the book, not least by only making it in that brief window when lima beans and corn are both available at our local farmer's market. Laurie Colwin's remarks still hold thoroughly true, however:

Succotash is normally a humble food: lima beans and corn, dressed up by New England cooks with a splash of cream and a scrape of nutmeg--a nice, simple side dish. Mrs. Fontenez's succotash is nothing like this. It is what succotash can be if it tries really hard....Strange as the ground ginger sounds, it is the snap that pulls this wonderful vegetable stew together. Take it from me, Mrs. Fontenez's succotash is a heavenly thing and a big hit at any gathering--if you haven't eaten it all up by yourself with a piece of toast for breakfast.

My modified version goes as follows, formatted in Laurie Colwin style:

THE WORLD'S BEST SUCCOTASH
1. In a pan with a nice, tight-fitting cover, place 1 chopped onion, 1 minced garlic clove, 1 chopped red pepper, and salt and pepper in a little bit of olive oil. Cover and cook over low heat until the onion is soft.
2. Add 1 teaspoon ground ginger, about 2 cups of shelled baby lima beans, and 1 cup water. Simmer, covered, for about 10 minutes.
3. Remove the lid and stir in the kernels you have just cut from 2 fresh ears of corn. Simmer the succotash for a few more minutes, until the liquid has thickened a bit. Taste and add more salt and pepper, if needed.

In theory this serves 4 to 6, just like Ms. Colwin suggests. But if you are greedy like us, it will probably serve two people for a hearty dinner and then one or both of you for lunch the next day.

Posted by redfox at August 20, 2002 11:07 PM (recipes)