Yes, Succotash Has a Luxurious Side

To make succotash I add a pound of frozen corn with a 8.5 ounce can of lima beans, and a 14.5 can of diced tomatoes. I add powdered onions and red peppers, and cook it with a quarter cup of water and a quarter cup of vinegar. Finally, I put some olive oil into the mixture, and cook it for several minutes on the stove cop. For me that is a complete meal.

Here's my mother's old New England recipe: cut the kernels off the extra cooked corn fresh from the farm. Have some cooked shell or horticultural (Cranberry?) beans on hand. Saute together in butter and salt to taste. Delicious.

It's pretty good with edamame and with some lightly browned and softened onions and some sauteed chopped sweet bell peppers in there ... some green, some yellow, and some red peppers ... and then you can throw some bacon lardoons in there, and if you stir in a little brown rice, it's like a summer Hoppin John. Spice that up with some Tony Chachere, go a little Cajun with it.

Barbecue some ribs and put that on the side ... and a roasted sweet potato. That's what I'm sayin. But you are probly gonna want some slaw too.

Dessert, I'm goin pecan pie and vanilla ice cream.

Succotash in all its variations can be wonderful, but as for where it began, the main clue is the Narragansett-language root of the word. The Narragansetts were a powerful local tribe in R.I. and SE Connecticut. And where but in this culinary heartland do you find "Succotash Road," located in South Kingstown, R.I.?

We do a version we call Anasazi Veggies, since we like to imagine it could have been prepared by our ancient puebloan ancestors and most of it comes out of our garden here in Colorado:

equal parts pinto beans, corn, zucchini, bell (and/or ancho) peppers, onions and lots of garlic, seasoned with a Mexican spice mix of ground chili, cumin, oregano, etc. and juiced up with a couple of ripe summer tomatoes. If it's not wet enough during the braising process, pour in a few glugs of that Mexican beer the cook is already drinking...

The best succotash is made here in Sarasota at a restaurant called Owen's Fish Camp. Heaven on a plate.

I have another version of this dish that originates from my family's hometown : New Orleans. LA: fresh corn, fresh or dried lima beans, okra, garlic, fresh tomatoes, bell pepper, onion, smoked sausage (andouille or chorizo), chicken broth, shrimp or crab meat stewed and served over rice.

I make my version of this dish with red lentils, corn and tomatoes. I cool it down with a chicken stock which really kicks up the flavor. If I want a bit heavier stew, I will add northern beans or chick peas.

like many simple recipes, the outcome depends on the quality of the ingredients and the care of the cook.

It's our catch all, main dish, left overs = side for the protein meal in summer. I can't wait to try the pumpkin variety.

Shallots, butter, cream, parsley added to freshly shucked corn and fresh Limas Salt and pepper... Perfection!

In the South, succotash always consists of "butter beans," white shoepeg corn, and chopped tomatoes-- flavored with country ham.

Try corn, garbanzo beans, and fava beans, cold, with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. An excellent summer side dish.

Not as I recall. I think I'm still chewing what I was given in my child hood that I couldn't hide under the side of my plate, but thanks anyway.

The photos of your succotash look delectable and give me some great ideas to try. Yum.

I am trying very hard not to interpret your remark about Midwestern succotash (like schools didn't open No. 10 cans in New Jersey or Arizona or Florida?) as a gratuitous insult to the central USA.

No references to Loony Tunes? How dare you!

It sounds terrific to me. I'm anxious to try it.

Thanks for a great idea for me now that I'm on the "Blue Zones Solution" book and just bought four packs of dried black eyed peas last night for cooking in dishes. As a matter of fact, occasionally I watch some of the cooking shows on the create channel and found I must have an enameled cooking pot so today I bought a cast iron enameled dutch oven online for stove top and oven cooking.

I will definitely try making this traditional vegetable stew. It looks very healthy. I ate very little meat and many Mediterranean foods for many years. I had a head start on the "Blue Zones" breakthrough.

May I recommend adding the poorboys fish; something I call seafood surprise which is the processed seafood made to look like crab leg meat. It's cheap and healthy and better than meat on a hoof.

Now I might stop drinking and smoking, womanizing and speeding, and I might live to 100.

Just kidding. I do none of that. I read the Times instead. I feel smarter and happier. Coffee is my gig.

With all due respect to the historical importance of succotash or “msickquatash,” I would not spoil the lobster by adding it to this porridge-like mixture. Let the succotash lovers use whatever vegetables they like, but no need to introduce ingredients that are excellent by themselves and in their own right.