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The
succotash recipe from Publican Anker is made with
fresh cranberry beans, shelled and cooked until
tender, and is dressed with a salsa verde. |
CHICAGO
— Succotash may be a Southern favorite and be named after
the word "msickquatash" of the Narragansett in New
England, but this dish, most famously made with corn and
lima beans, has deep roots in the Midwest. You can taste
that story at various restaurants around Chicago where chefs
are adding seasonal, Midwest touches to their succotash.
"I
grew up with it. I’m from Ohio," said A.J. Walker,
chef de cuisine at Publican Anker in Chicago’s Wicker Park
neighborhood. "I think it’s the quintessential
Midwest side dish. Yeah, you just have it at a lot of family
get-togethers and stuff like that."
"The
Midwest is a melting pot of all the different parts of the
country," said Tom Carlin, chef de cuisine at Dove’s
Luncheonette around the corner. "And being able to
bring our ingredients and our history we’ve gotten from
the South and the Northeast together is what makes it
specifically a Midwestern dish."
Certainly,
succotash has a long history in Chicago. The family of John
Kinzie, one of the first permanent European settlers early
in the 19th century, "likely ate venison, succotash and
salt pork," according to Bruce Kraig, the historian who
wrote a city food timeline for the Chicago Tribune in 1997.
Three-quarters of a century later, in 1877, cans of
succotash were 15 cents each at Hickson’s Cash Grocery
House, according to an advertisement in the Chicago Tribune.
A May 15, 1886, Tribune column included a recipe for
succotash calling for canned corn and canned string beans
cooked in equal parts milk and water. And, in January 1894,
the Ohio Society of Chicago honored that state’s governor
and future president, William McKinley, with a banquet at
the Grand Pacific Hotel that featured succotash on the menu.
Today,
you can find string beans in the succotash at Dove’s
Luncheonette, but they’re fresh. It’s a reflection of
the desire of a number of Chicago chefs to create succotash
using seasonal ingredients according to personal taste and
the restaurant’s overall theme. Carlin is a Kansas City
native whose family put green beans in the succotash. That’s
why you find them in his, which is used as a filling for
vegetarian enchiladas topped with a sauce of pureed chiles
and tomatoes.
"Succotash
is more of a theory than it is an actual dish,"
explained Jimmy Papadopoulos, chef/partner of Bellemore on
the Near West Side. "It’s more an idea of using a
variety of ingredients and showcasing what’s beautiful at
that time of year."
He’s
currently making a succotash featuring okra, cubed zucchini,
zucchini flowers, corn and fava beans. Look for his dish to
change with the seasons.
Corn
is the inspiration for Nick Dostal, executive chef at
Terrace 16 at the Trump International Hotel & Tower in
the Near North neighborhood. He isn’t a fan of lima beans,
having ate canned ones as a kid. So, he uses fresh jicama
instead in his succotash, which also features sweet peas,
espelette pepper, tarragon and a citrus vinaigrette.
"Customers
love it," he said. "Midwesterners look at
succotash and see something familiar."
———
CRANBERRY
BEAN SUCCOTASH
Prep:
3 hours
Cook:
1 hour
Makes:
8 servings
A
recipe from Publican Anker. Dried or canned cranberry beans
could be used in place of the fresh beans; prepare beans
accordingly. A white wine vinegar can substitute for the
muscatel and Champagne vinegars.
Cranberry
beans:
1/4
cup olive oil
1
fresh bay leaf or 1/3 dried leaf
3
teaspoons chopped thyme leaves
1/2 of
a white onion, finely diced
3
cloves garlic, slivered
3 cups
fresh cranberry beans
4 cups
water
Salt
and pepper to taste
3
tablespoons muscatel vinegar or white wine vinegar
Salsa
verde:
4
shallots, minced
2
tablespoons capers
5
anchovies, rinsed, chopped
1/4
cup each: Champagne vinegar, extra-virgin olive oil
1
tablespoon honey
1/2 of
a jalapeno, seeds and ribs removed, minced
1
tablespoon lemon juice
1
teaspoon salt
Succotash:
1
tablespoon vegetable oil
3 cups
corn kernels
2 cups
diced celery
3
tablespoons each, finely chopped: chives, cilantro, mint
Salt
Lemon
juice
1. For
the cranberry beans, heat the olive oil in a large saucepan
over medium heat. Add the bay leaf, thyme, onion and garlic.
Cook, stirring, until the onion is tender and translucent, 5
minutes. Add cranberry beans and water. Bring to a simmer;
cook until beans are tender, 30-45 minutes, being careful
not to let the pot boil. Remove from heat; drain. Season
with salt, pepper and vinegar. Cool and set aside.
2. For
the salsa verde, stir the shallots, capers, anchovies,
vinegar, olive oil, honey, jalapeno, lemon juice and salt
together in a bowl. Set aside. Makes about 1 1/4 cups. You
will have salsa leftover for another use.
3. For
the succotash, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.
Add the oil and let heat until it is almost smoking. Add the
corn; cook, stirring, until tender. Remove from heat and let
cool to room temperature. In a large bowl, mix together the
corn, raw celery, chives, cilantro, mint, reserved cranberry
beans and 1 cup salsa verde. Season with salt and lemon
juice.
Nutrition
information per serving: 455 calories, 16 g fat, 2 g
saturated fat, 2 mg cholesterol, 64 g carbohydrates, 3 g
sugar, 20 g protein, 381 mg sodium, 21 g fiber
SUCCOTASH
ENCHILADAS
Prep:
40 minutes
Cook:
45 minutes
Makes:
10 enchiladas
A
recipe from Dove’s Luncheonette.
Enchilada
sauce:
5
dried guajillo chiles
5
dried New Mexico chiles
1
dried ancho chile
1
dried pasilla chile
1
tablespoon olive oil
1
onion, sliced
4
cloves garlic, sliced
Pinch
each: black pepper, cumin, coriander
1 can
(14.5 ounces) chopped tomato
Sugar,
salt
Succotash:
2
tablespoons vegetable oil
1/4
cup diced white onion
1
clove garlic, sliced
1 cup
corn kernels
1 cup
chopped blanched green beans
1 cup
diced mixed summer squash
1
tablespoon pasilla chile flakes (grind your own from a
pasilla chile)
1/2
cup diced tomato
2
tablespoons each, shredded: queso fresco, queso oaxaca
Corn
tortillas
Chopped
cilantro, chopped green onion, grated cheese, toasted
pepitas
1. For
the enchilada sauce, remove stems and seeds from the chiles;
toast in a dry skillet over medium heat, until chiles turn
shiny and you see a wisp of smoke. Transfer chiles to a
bowl. Return skillet to heat; add 1 tablespoon oil and the
onion and garlic. Cook until softened, 5 minutes. Add the
chiles, black pepper, cumin and coriander. Stir in the
tomatoes with their juice, adding water if needed to almost
cover the chiles. Cook until chiles are soft, about 15
minutes. Strain, reserving the liquid; puree the chile
mixture in a food processor, adding the liquid back in as
needed to get a sauce consistency. Adjust flavor with sugar
and salt as needed. Set aside.
2. For
the succotash, heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.
Cook the garlic and onion until softened, 5 minutes. Add the
corn, green beans and summer squash. Season with chile
flakes and salt; add the tomato. Cook until vegetables are
crisp-tender, 5-10 minutes. Remove from heat; fold in grated
cheeses.
3.
Spoon the mixture into tortillas. Roll the tortillas around
the filling; place seam-side down in a baking dish that fits
them snuggly. Top tortillas with the enchilada sauce. Bake
in a 375-degree oven until the sauce forms a little glaze on
top, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove tortillas from the oven; serve
with the cilantro, green onion, pepitas and more grated
cheese.
Nutrition
information per serving: 180 calories, 8 g fat, 1 g
saturated fat, 2 mg cholesterol, 26 g carbohydrates, 2 g
sugar, 4 g protein, 134 mg sodium, 6 g fiber
———
