Delaware Creamed Succotash

DESPITE THERE BEING A SMALL TOWN IN RHODE Island named Succotash Point, Southerners have always claimed that the corn-and–lima bean dish called sukguttahash by the early Powhatan Indians originated in seventeenth-century Virginia and eventually spread throughout the South. Subsequently, each state or region developed its own style of succotash, one of the most distinctive being this creamed Delaware version, made with tomatoes and nutmeg. My own mother in North Carolina, of course, would never have dreamed of adding tomatoes to succotash till I virtually forced her to taste this version. And there was a man in Alabama who once told me I’d lost my mind when I mentioned making succotash with milk or cream. I am pretty adamant about using only fresh corn (naturally, with the milk scraped from the cobs) and limas (or, even better, real butter beans, if they’re available), and I can’t emphasize enough the importance of stirring succotash while it’s thickening over heat, to prevent scorching. (One burnt kernel or bean can ruin the entire pot.)

MAKES: 8 servings

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 1⁄2 cups fresh lima beans
• 6 strips bacon, diced
• 2 large onions, finely chopped
• 2 1⁄2 cups fresh corn kernels (plus milk scraped from the cobs)
• 2 cups peeled and chopped ripe tomatoes, juices included
• 3⁄4 cup half-and-half
• 1⁄8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• Tabasco sauce to taste

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Place the lima beans in a medium saucepan and add enough salted water to cover them.
2. Bring the saucepan to a moderate simmer, cover it, and cook the lima beans until tender, which usually takes about 15 minutes.
3. Drain the cooked lima beans.
4. In a large, heavy pot, fry the diced bacon over moderate heat until it is almost crisp.
5. Pour off all but about 3 tablespoons of the bacon grease from the pot.
6. Add the finely chopped onions to the pot and stir until they are softened, which takes about 2 minutes.
7. Add the cooked lima beans, fresh corn kernels (plus the milk from the cobs), peeled and chopped ripe tomatoes (including their juices), and half-and-half to the pot.
8. Stir the mixture well and continue to cook for another 5 minutes.
9. Season the succotash with salt, freshly ground black pepper, and Tabasco sauce to taste.
10. Continue to cook the succotash, stirring carefully to prevent sticking, until the mixture has thickened slightly.
11. Transfer the succotash to an earthenware tureen or deep serving dish.
12. Serve the succotash hot.