Summertime Succotash

As I mentioned in our Americana Steak post, we made succotash as our accompaniment for our fabulous steak. Now, I have been reminded several times, that succotash means lima beans. Lima beans don’t really top my list of favorite foods. It’s not really that I don’t like them, I just haven’t had any great lima beans…so when I saw this recipe, I knew it was right up my alley. The lima beans are replaced with green beans, yum! This was a quick and easy way to switch up our regular vegetable options. We did adjust this recipe a little based on the vegetables we had available. The big changes we made to this were that we threw the corn on the grill before adding it, we left the peppers fresh, and we were lacking zucchini (but I am sure that would be awesome). We left the corn a bit on the underdone side so it wouldn’t be overdone when added to the pan. This was a great way to round out our meal.
One other thing—If you struggle with corn going everywhere when you cut it off the cob, try this little trick. Get out your Bundt pan, yes the one for baking, place the corn cob vertically in the center of the pan and cut the kernels off as you normally would. All of the kernels will fall into the pan, keeping them contained. It is like magic! (Sorry I don’t have photos, I will remember next time!)

Kelly

Summertime Succotash

Based on the ‘Mustards Grill Napa Valley Cookbook‘

1 to 1 ½ c green and/or yellow wax beans, trimmed and cut on the diagonal into 1-inch pieces
2 T olive oil
1 T butter
¾ c minced scallions (white and light green parts only)
1 zucchini, diced
1 yellow or orange bell pepper, roasted, peeled, seeded, and diced
1 ½ c fresh corn kernels
¾ cup corn stock, chicken stock, or fish stock
¼ c heavy whipping cream
Salt and freshly cracked black pepper
Blanch the beans in boiling salted water for 5-7 minutes until crisp-tender. Drain and run under cold water to stop the cooking.
Heat the olive oil and butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the scallions and cook gently for one minute, until slightly soft. Add the zucchini, pepper and corn kernels (reserve if grilled) and cook for 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in the beans, stock and cream (and corn if grilled) and simmer for 2-3 minutes until the liquid is reduced to a thick, creamy consistency. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.