Late Summer Succotash

I made the most killer Jamie-version succotash last weekend. My parents were visiting and I wanted to make something special. Traditional succotash is simply a butter or lard laden saute of corn and lima beans, though any number of bean varietals will do. I originally bought green beans for the dish but finding them incredibly tough and ultimately inedible, I bequeathed them to the compost pile (quick tip: taste your green beans at the market, before you by them).

This may appear un-American but I'm not a huge corn fan. OK, let me re-phrase. Since becoming such an over-used, genetically modified cash crop I've had a hard time stomaching it. You can pretty much guarantee if your corn is not organic, it's genetically modified. I don't want to go off the GMO deep end here but let me just say this. There are a number of reasons to avoid GMO's but my biggest one is that these frankenfoods are new to the food chain. We have no idea what long term effects they may have on our bodies and I'm personally not interested in being a guinea pig. For more information on genetically modified foods check out Responsible Technology. I highly recommend it.

OK, back to my succotash. Since finding delicious organic corn at the farmer's market, I was thrilled to add it to the dish. Here is the recipe for my late summer succotash. Enjoy!

Late Summer Succotash

I used basil as my herb of choice but fresh dill or parsley would be great as well. Play around and discover the version you like best.

Serves 4

  • 2 1/2 cups kale, chopped

  • 1 large red onion, chopped

  • 4 tablespoons ghee (or organic butter), divided

  • 3 ears of corn, kernels cut off with a knife

  • 1/2 cup purple basil, torn

  • sea salt to taste

In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of ghee. Add in the kale and red onion and saute until slightly softened, about 5 minutes. Toss in the corn kernels and cook together until kernels are warmed through but maintain their crunch, 6-7 minutes. Add in the remaining ghee and mix thoroughly. Season with salt and top with purple basil. Serve immediately. Enjoy!

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