Will and I joined a CSA (community supported agriculture) at Rosebank Farms about 18 months ago while we were living in an apartment and were not able to have our own garden. It's a great way to get fresh, local, seasonal produce and challenge yourself to try new things and learn new cooking techniques and recipes. It forces you to cook seasonally which I have grown to appreciate. I love Rosebank Farms especially because they provide recipes for the more obscure vegetables and always send an email with what vegetables to expect so you can plan your meals ahead of time.
One of the vegetables we get frequently during the late summer/early fall is butter beans (aka lima beans). I had never cooked with fresh butter beans until I joined the CSA. The first time we received them, I made succotash and I have been experimenting with it ever since.
Succotash is the perfect side item for the week as it is fresh, healthy, filling, and it is packed full of vegetables- most importantly it tastes delicious! The following will be a compilation of many different recipes that I have tried with all of my favorite components- the ingredient most unique being the addition of cider vinegar. It brings a sweet acidity to the dish, and I don't think I can make succotash again without it. Enjoy!
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| Fresh butter beans require cooking time versus canned beans but I think its worth it |
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| Fresh roasting corn |
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| Raw Vegetables needing to be chopped |
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| Layering in the okra after sautéing the onion and garlic followed by adding the zucchini |
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Lastly layering in the butter beans, corn and tomatoes |
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What's great about succotash is that it can be made with many different kinds of vegetables. You can pretty much add any vegetable to it, just keeping in mind the cooking times required (i.e. okra requires more cooking time than zucchini). Succotash just has a base of corn and beans like butter beans. The recipe below includes the vegetables I used most recently from my CSA, but feel free to add squash, green/red/yellow peppers, etc. Don't hesitate to get creative!
Succotash
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 slices of bacon (if desired)
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 onion, chopped
2-3 tomatoes/cherry tomatoes, halved/chopped
4 ears of corn (or 2 cans), kernels cut off the cob
2 cups of fresh butter beans (or 2 cans)
1 large jalapeño chile, seeded and finely chopped
1/2 lb of okra, cut into 1/2 inch thick slices
2 tablespoons of cider vinegar
Vegetable broth
2 tsp salt + pepper
garlic salt
red pepper flakes
fresh basil leaves
Instructions
1. Cover fresh butter beans in 1/2 water 1/2 vegetable broth and bring to a boil, then simmer on low for 15-20 minutes (If you use canned butter beans, skip this step)
2. Soak corn in water for about ten minutes, preheat oven to 350, once at temperature place corn (in their husks) in the oven for 30 minutes. Then cut the kernels from the cob and discard the cob
3. Cook bacon in a skillet on medium heat until crisp, leave bacon fat in the skillet to sauté the onion and garlic for about 3 minutes, stirring constantly
If you do not include the bacon, use olive oil to
sauté the onion and garlic
4. Add 2 tsp of salt and pepper
5. Layer in the jalapeño, then the okra, followed by the zucchini allowing each to sauté for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly
6. Strain the butter beans (or open and strain the canned beans) and add them into the mixture
7. Add the corn and lastly the tomatoes
8. Add garlic salt and red pepper flakes to taste and add in the cider vinegar
9. Turn the heat off and allow the mixture to rest (Add in the chopped bacon here if you chose to include it)
10. Serve and sprinkle with some chopped, fresh basil! Enjoy!
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Adapted from:
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