Sufferin’ Succotash!!

Boy, it sure got cold here in the City this week, didn’t it? It was actually a bit cold last weekend when I left the restaurant and went out to Jersey to check up on my mother who seems unable of taking it easy…even in the wake of an appendectomy. Anyway, I went out there to do a little house-cooking and make sure my mom stayed off her feet. I had some ideas about what to cook, but thought better of it.

My step-dad and I took a trip out to Wegman’s, or as I’ve taken to calling it, “The Most Awesome Grocery Store Ever,” to buy some food. He had asked me to recreate a Veal Saltinbocca I had made about a year ago; but because I wasn’t crazy about the pre-sliced veal cutlets in the store (I had brought veal tenderloin which I sliced and pounded myself the last time), we got veal chops instead.

The real fun began when I turned my attention to the produce. I scoured the table with some of the last of the season’s corn on it and thought back to those carefree Summer days when I was a fat, bespectacled kid selling corn to passers-by. Those warm days I was spoiled by my neighbors Butter & Sugar and Peaches & Cream corn…amazingly sweet varieties that in my estimation can be eaten right off the stalk. And at the end of the Summer, if we weren’t already sick of corn, the kernels would be cut off the cobs for succotash and the cobs saved for soup. Wegman’s, unfortunately, had what looked and tasted like Quickie, or possibly Sugar & Gold, Corn, not my favourite, but I thought what better way to make this corn sing than with succotash?

Succotash is, if we’re getting technical, older than America. The Narragansett people’s called it, “msíckquatash” which essentially means boiled corn; and it was referenced in Roger Williams 1643 guide to interacting and understanding the native peoples: A Key Into the Language of America. And succotash, is as varied as there are people to interpret it. Traditionally, it is made from corn and lima beans, but other beans can be substituted for the lima’s and additions can be made; with the one constant being fresh corn. My father’s mother used to make succotash at all family gatherings, hers with corn, lima beans and white onion, as well as a healthy addition of cracked black pepper.

Today; while I’m on my way to the Chile Pepper Fiesta and before celebrating my grandparents sixty-first anniversary and my great-aunt’s eighty-fifth birthday; I’m going to share this particular succotash recipe with you. Bear in mind that this is merely a guideline, because I was more interested in utilizing the corn and making sure my mother’s other vegetables didn’t go to waste in her fridge. You can also feel free to add some butter to this recipe (as I did) to enrich the taste of the vegetables.

Early Autumn Succotash

5 Ears of Corn, Kernels removed
1 Cup Sugar Snap Peas, blanched & shocked
1 Cup Baby Carrots, halved
2 Medium Tomatoes, medium diced
½ Red Onion, sliced thin
½ White (or Spanish) Onion, sliced thin
2 oz (or slightly more) Olive Oil, not Extra Virgin
Salt & Pepper, to taste

Place one ounce of oil in a large skillet and allow to warm. Add onions to pan and slowly begin to caramelize them over a medium flame, stirring so as not to burn them or brown them too quickly; approximately ten minutes.
Add carrots to pan and occasionally stir, cooking until carrots begin to slightly soften.
Add corn kernels and peas, as well as more oil if necessary; tossing ingredients well to combine. Cook for approximately five minutes (or to desired doneness of corn), then add the tomatoes, tossing gently so as not to crush the tomatoes.
Season with salt and pepper and serve.

Serves 6-to-8