Spicy Succotash with Bacon and Fava Beans for Progressive Eats

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Playing Catch Up with My Southern-ness

I was born and raised in the south, but since my parents were both from Queens in New York City, I ate as a northerner at home.

Southerners ate biscuits. We had soft dinner rolls.

Southerners ate cheese grits. Mom served cream of wheat.

Southerners ate chicken and flat or “slick” dumplings. When we had dumplings, ours were big and puffy and sat atop a fricassee.

Don’t get me wrong, friends. I love rolls, and I even like cream of wheat.

In the great dumpling debate, I won’t throw a puffy one on the floor if it’s offered, but I do come down on the side of the slick dumpling. I had some catching up to do.

Southern fried chicken. The glory that is whole hog barbecue.

Nubby cubes of golden cornbread. Fluffy buttermilk biscuits and sausage gravy. Collard greens and field peas. Rich yet thrifty bread pudding. Crispy-tangy fried green tomatoes. Homemade pimento cheese sandwiches.

And succotash. That interesting dish that is at once both a New England Thanksgiving staple and a southern comfort food.

What Is Succotash?

The word succotash is a Native American–Narragansett, specifically–word that means bits of corn.

As you can tell from the name, what is actually contained in succotash, besides corn, is up for debate and interpretation.

At its most basic, you cook corn and lima beans together with some fat. The end.

Because succotash has both some type of seeds (corn) and some type of legumes (beans), you end up with a meatless dish that has all the essential amino acids in it.

In other words, a succotash is a complete protein, making it a great candidate for a Meatless Monday meal, as long as you don’t add in bacon or lard.

Different Ways to Make Succotash

The easiest way to switch up a succotash recipe is to use different kinds of corn and/or different types of beans. You can also use a mixture.

There is no rule that says just because there are lima beans in your succotash that you can’t add field peas, for example. Or that you can’t use both white and yellow corn along with pinto beans and/or black eyed peas.

You can also add any number of other vegetables to your succotash. Consider these summer favorites:

• Green beans
• sweet peas
• tomatoes
• squash
• zucchini
• okra

I usually cook my succotash on the stove, but you can also roast all the vegetables together in the oven.

You can even top a dish of mixed corn, beans, some fat, and seasonings with pie crust to make a vegetable pot pie.

Is Succotash Vegan?

Generally speaking, succotash is not a vegan recipe, but you can certainly make a vegan succotash by cooking with Earth Balance, coconut oil, and/or coconut cream to make it creamy.

Use some liquid smoke to give it a bit of smokiness (this is from someone who would really miss bacon in her succotash!)

What Makes This Spicy Succotash Recipe Special

For this succotash, I decided to update a southern side dish.

The succotash I’m bringing to our table today is a spicy one full of the expected corn and beans, in this case limas, but jazzed up with some:

• bacon
• fava beans
• cayenne
• and one of my favorite southern shortcut ingredients, a can of Ro-Tel

The resulting succotash is creamy and complex.

You can easily make this vegetarian by leaving out the bacon and bacon fat or take it all the way to vegan by subbing in a vegan “butter” or some coconut oil.

I think a sprinkling of Marly’s Bacon-Flavored Almond Slivers would be great in either a vegetarian or vegan version.

I hope you enjoy this spicy succotash as much as we do.

Ways To Vary This Succotash Recipe

As I said before, succotash is sort of a free form recipe, and that gives you plenty of room to play.

There are many ways to modify this specific recipe. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

• Save time by using store-bought pre-crumbled bacon and saute your vegetables in olive oil and butter rather than in bacon fat
• If you can find fresh favas in the springtime, by all means use them. You will still want to cook them separately until tender, about 15-20 minutes (or more or less depending on the size of your fava beans)
• When making this recipe out of season, feel free to use frozen or even canned (drained) vegetables. Follow the instructions on the bags to see how long you should cook each vegetable to ensure they are tender.
• Leave out the fava beans entirely and replace with either more limas or any other fresh bean of your choice. I love field peas that we get at the farmers’ market
• If you don’t want it to be too spicy, replace the Ro-Tel with diced tomatoes, fresh or canned.
• You can also leave out or reduce the amount of cayenne called for
• Consider using ground chipotle instead of cayenne for a spicy, smoky flavor

More Summer Recipes from the Progressive Eats Crew

Main Course
Never Enough Thyme – Creole Style Smothered Chicken

Appetizers
The Heritage Cook – Old Bay Shrimp Boil Skewers
Stetted – Fried Green Tomatoes with Smoked Tomato Basil Aioli

Salads
Miss in the Kitchen – Creamy Coleslaw
Life’s a Feast – Shrimp, Grilled Peach and Quinoa Salad

Soup
Spiceroots – Maque Choux Soup

Sides
Creative Culinary – Bacon and Caramelized Onion Creamed Corn
Pastry Chef Online – Spicy Succotash–You’re already here!

Beverage
Healthy. Delicious. – Watermelon Lemonade

Desserts
Barbara Bakes – Key Lime Pound Cake
That Skinny Chick Can Bake – Banana Cream Cheesecake Pie

NOTE: Most of my recipes are written by weight and not volume, even the liquids.

Even though I try to provide you with volume measurements as well, I encourage you to buy a kitchen scale for ease of measuring, accuracy, and consistency.

This is the scale I use, love, and recommend.

I really hope you love this spicy succotash, you guys! If you make it, please share a photo with me, either in the PCO Facebook Group or on instagram by tagging @onlinepastrychef and using hashtag #pcorecipe. Thanks, and enjoy!

And there you have it friends. A perfectly wonderful summer succotash that’s veggie sweet with a little heat. Enjoy!

Thank you for spending some time with me today. Take care, and have a lovely day.

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