David Rubel's

What's For Dinner?

10/12/05 

Anna’s Succotash

(serves two adults and two children)

One of the culinary staples taught to European colonists by the Native Americans was succotash, a fall medley of beans and corn that took its name from msickquatash, the Narraganset word for boiled kernels of corn. Presented here is Anna Dibble’s version, which she calls Harvest Jazz. It’s noticeably modern but still heavily reliant on the bounty of the fall harvest.

• 2 c fresh shell beans (such as cranberry, fava, or lima)
• 5 Tbs olive oil
• enough fresh ripe tomatoes to make 1 1/2 c chopped
• 1 tsp sherry or balsamic vinegar
• the juice of an orange
• 3 large ears of corn
• the zest and juice of a lime
• a handful of fresh basil leaves
• 1 medium onion
• 2 large garlic gloves
• 1 small jalapeno (or other hot) pepper
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 c parmesan cheese
• 1/4 c feta cheese

1. Cook the shell beans in plenty of boiling water until soft, about 15-20 minutes. Drain them, then toss with a tablespoon of the olive oil and a sprinkle of kosher salt. Set aside.

2. Coarsely chop the tomatoes. Toss with the vinegar and orange juice. Set aside.

3. Remove the kernels from the corncobs. Zest the lime. Shred the basil. Slice the onion thinly. Mince the garlic and the jalapeno.

4. Heat the remaining olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over a medium-low flame. Add the onion, garlic, and jalapeno pepper. Saute until the vegetables begin to soften but are still a little underdone, about 10 minutes.

5.Raise the flame to medium. Add the corn, sugar, salt, and the juice of half the lime. Also add the previously prepared tomatoes and beans. Simmer until the corn is cooked, stirring every few minutes. (The idea is to cook the corn while keeping everything else slightly underdone and as fresh tasting as possible.)

6. Squeeze in the juice of the second lime half. Add the lime zest, the basil, and the cheeses. Toss briefly and serve.

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Tips

* This succotash works well either as a side dish or as a vegetarian main course, but it’s most useful as a make-ahead basis for a quick, healthful meal. Simply adding chicken stock turns it into a hearty, flavorful soup, and adding some to 6 beaten eggs yields a family-sized frittata.

* Anna likes to elevate her succotash into a main course by stirring in some shredded prosciutto at the last minute.

* If you can’t get fresh shell beans, try substituting canned ones. (Note that these will have already been cooked.)

* Anna reports that this dish can be started well ahead of time. Once the corn is cooked, you can cover the skillet and remove it from the heat. According to Anna, it can sit like this for a couple of hours, if necessary. As dinnertime approaches, simply reheat the succotash and proceed with the final steps in the recipe.

If you have tried one of these recipes and have an improvement or tip or variation to suggest, please e-mail David at dinner@wamc.org. Also feel free to send along your own family cuisine recipes. You can even request dishes that you'd like David to present in the future.

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David Rubel is president of Agincourt Press, a book production company in Chatham, New York. He spends his days writing American history, then heads home after work to cook for his wife and two young children. His most recent book is The Story of America (DK, 2002).