Succotash — one of the delights of corn season

New Englanders wait for sweet corn season all year, and for two or three months we delight in using it as much as possible, from breakfast to dinner, and the occasional midnight snack.

In our house, the moment we find the first corn, it’s what we have for dinner, nothing else is needed. That first bite, boiled, grilled or roasted, butter dripping down our chins, is worth the wait of the last 10 months, and although the corn will get even sweeter as the season progresses, this always tastes like the best.

Corn is the star of a classic milk-based chowder with potatoes, perhaps a chilled soup. We’ll make loaded cornbread or spider cake (a Northeast classic cooked in a cast-iron pan), and of course, corn fritters. Lots of fritters.

Although succotash has somewhat fallen out of favor, it is worth revisiting, especially if your only memory is left-over corn mixed with canned lima beans. When I was growing up, succotash consisted of just those lima beans and corn, usually cooked in a little bacon fat, and it was one of my father’s favorites. Mom didn’t vary the recipe, and Dad was the only one who loved it. So, I figured this was a perfect dish to remake.

It’s not surprising that many traditional New England dishes use corn, beans, potatoes, squash, peppers and tomatoes. These were all New World foods that the Native Americans cultivated and enjoyed for thousands of years before the colonists arrived. What a learning curve that must have been, cooking with all these new foods.

Succotash comes from the native American word “m’sickquatash” which means either broken or boiled corn kernels, depending on the source of the information. The native population’s dish always had corn for a base with a fresh shell bean added. Although succotash now almost exclusively uses lima beans, the original would have used other types of shelling beans that grow better in the short growing season of the Northeast.

The corn is always present in succotash recipes, and right now it is beautiful — sweet, tender and flavorful. It is also abundant, with some good deals to be found. We always buy a dozen, cook it all, eat what we like and freeze the rest. Cherished goods in the middle of winter.

To complement the corn, traditionally many New England cooks used whatever shell beans they had on hand at harvest time, enjoying some of the beans fresh and drying the rest to store for the winter. Any fresh bean will do here, even fresh edamame.

Beyond that, regional differences throughout the northeast included the addition of tomatoes, peppers, cream, sour cream, milk, even other vegetables. You can make it your own with what you like best, just keep corn the star. Here I’ve added onion and garlic, some tender greens, cherry tomatoes because they are coming fast and furious in the garden and a little hot pepper just to liven things up.

Succotash is served as both a side dish and as a salad. It has also served as a base for a stew with other proteins such as meat and tofu.

Make a big batch, eat it hot at dinner and turn the rest into a salad the next day with the addition of a little vinaigrette.

Not-Quite-Your-Mother’s Succotash

In a large skillet, melt the two tablespoons of butter over high heat and add:

1/2 purple onion, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced.
Sauté for a minute or so and add:
1 cup fresh shelling beans, edamame or frozen lima beans
2 cups fresh corn kernels
1 small jalapeño or Serrano pepper, finely minced.

Reduce the heat to medium low, season with salt and pepper and continue cooking for two or three minutes, or until the limas start to soften, and the corn is where you want it. Add:

1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
3-4 scallions, finely sliced
Small handful of arugula or watercress, diced
1 tablespoon cider vinegar.

Take the pan off the heat, let the greens wilt and taste for seasoning. You can add a bit more butter here if you like, or even a lot more, and you can certainly use a vegan substitute.
Plate, enjoy and give a nod to those unseen guests at the table who came so many centuries before.

How to freeze corn

Corn is inexpensive when you buy it in season at the farm stand. When you freeze our local corn, it tastes better than anything you get commercially produced for the freezer or canned, so this is the time to stock up.

Buy a dozen ears or more. Feast to your heart’s content however you like it cooked. Cut the kernels off the cob. Everyone has their own method, but what seems to work best is placing the whole cob on a kitchen towel and using a sharp knife, shave the kernels with downward strokes, trying not to cut into the cob itself.

Place the kernels on a cookie sheet and freeze in a single layer; this doesn’t take long, about an hour. Then put the frozen kernels in a zip bag or other container and store in the freezer. This way, all the kernels will stay separate and you can take out only what you want to use.

While you are at it, place some of the stripped cobs in a baggie as well. When making a corn chowder next winter, toss these in the soup pot for the entire cooking time and fish them out at the last. They add incredible flavor to the broth.