There is nothing more Deep South delicious than succotash! Now this fabulous dish might have originated in the North, in particular, Plymouth, Massachusetts, but I'm sure a lot of us Southerners claim it as our own. According to Yankee magazine, "No meal in American history is more famous than the "first Thanksgiving" at Plymouth, Massachusetts, but despite its notoriety, most of the actual menu remains a mystery. The Pilgrims and Wampanoags certainly didn't tuck into buttery mashed potatoes or mile-high apple pie in 1621, but most historians agree that succotash is a likely candidate. A simple, hearty concoction of corn and beans (fresh in summer or dried in winter), plus a little meat or fish, succotash was a nourishing Native American staple, a thick stew, that could (and did) feed a crowd. It's also a lot of fun to say (it's from the Wampanoag msíckquatash, meaning "boiled corn kernels")."
What is Succotash
Honestly, like a lot of recipes, there's no one 'right' way to do succotash. Essentially, you want to have corn and beans in it. And, for me those beans are always baby lima beans. Loosely speaking, 'succotash' is a combination of vegetables in butter and maybe bacon drippings and with a cream sauce, not too heavy or overpowering, but just enough to bring the mixture of vegetables all together. Other cultures, like Mexican cuisine and African cuisine, have their own versions of this vegetable mixture.
Succotash really is a unique word. And, according to Cooks Info, the origins are this: The word succotash comes from the word "msickquatash" used by the Narragansett Indians on Rhode Island. It appears to have meant either "boiled corn kernels" or "broken into bits".
Now, I really like adding a protein to my succotash to make it a meal. And, in this case, we're using chicken. But, experiment with small shrimp, pork, lamb or beef bites and other things, maybe even salmon chunks.
This southern creamy garlic butter chicken succotash is really a meal on your plate. Sometimes I'll thrown in peas n' even carrots. Maybe some other veggies. Then what we border on is a ratatouille! Hey, but that's ok, there's no definitive lines when you're talking about great food. It's just good! xoxo ~ally
Ingredients
- 3 Tbl. peanut oil
- 3 Tbl. butter, unsalted
- 1 ½ to 2 lbs. chicken breasts, boneless, skinless, cut into bite size chunks
- ½ cup sweet onions, small dice
- 2 tsp. garlic, finely minced
- 2 cups corn, frozen
- 2 cups baby lima beans, frozen
- 1 Tbl. No Salt Seasoning Mixture, Kirklands or McCormicks
- 1 Tbl. Braggs Nutritional Yeast
- 1 tsp. sea salt
- 1 tsp. pepper
- 1 (12 oz.) pouch Campbell's Creamy Garlic Butter Chicken Oven Sauce
- 1 cup green bell pepper, medium dice
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced in halves
- 1 cup microgreens, packed, sweet pea shoots or something similar
Instructions
Notes
