Succotash

I have heard a couple of reports that my reference to succotash in a recent post was mystifying to readers! I have written about succotash on my blog once before, in my post about the first time Dave came to lunch at my house: lunch with friends.

Succotash is an original Native American dish.

Here is the recipe:

250g (8 oz) prepared pumpkin flesh

50g (2 oz) butter

1 small onion, finely chopped

Half a red pepper (otherwise called capsicum), finely chopped

100g (4 oz) dried beans, soaked and pre-cooked - I usually use a can of beans instead of dried beans, but if this is done they must be added at the end or they will go mushy. The recipe recommends white skinned beans for their colour.

250g (8 oz) sweetcorn - I use canned corn.

salt & pepper

Cut the pumpkin in to walnut-sized chunks. In a saucepan, melt the butter and fry the onion and pepper until the onion is translucent. Add the pumpkin, beans, sweetcorn and water, bring to the boil, turn the heat down and simmer, covered for 10 minutes. Season and simmer a further 5 minutes. (If using canned beans, add them in the last five minutes rather than at the beginning).

I gained the recipe from Pumpkins and Squashes by Janet Macdonald.