Trying to keep the puns down here, but, well, couldn’t resist. Edamame—fresh green soybeans — appeared in the CSA share recently, and with corn still available at local farmer’s market, it was time to try a twist on succotash.
First, edamame. Probably best known here as an addictive snack served in Japanese restaurants, edamame, which means “twig bean” or “beans on branches,” are young soybeans, the bright green hairy pods picked before the beans within fully
mature. Being soy, edamame are high in protein, and being beans, high in fiber. You can find them year-round in the freezer case of a well-stocked grocer, both in the shell—make your addictive edamame snack at home—or shelled, where they can also substitute for  limas and favas.
And that’s where the idea for soyccatash came from; that, and from the food writer John Thorne. Like most people of my generation, I grew up detesting succotash—a frozen block of limas and corn steam-boiled into an unpalatable marriage of soggy and mealy. Then one day I read about fresh succotash in John Thorne’s “Simple Cooking” newsletter. His original recipe, if I remember correctly, called for late season corn, with its deep, not-overly-sweet flavor—a flavor breeders are doing their best to eradicate….but more on that another time—and cranberry beans, those gorgeous reddish pods with red and white streaked beans inside. (Alas, they turn a dull grey as they cook.) But this is how I made it the other day: cut the kernels, and scrape the juice, from six ears of corn. Shell the edamame; I wound up with a cup and a half of beans. Boil the beans in water with as many of the corn cobs as fit (break them in half if using a small pan), but don’t salt the water—it’ll toughen the beans. Meanwhile, saute a diced half-onion in a generous amount of butter, and, when softened, add the corn kernels. Cover and let the corn stew in its own juices. When the beans are finished, about fifteen minutes later, drain, reserving some of the liquid, and add to the corn. Add a little of the edamame liquid to sauce it up, then finish with a few tablespoons of cream if you’re feeling indulgent. Season with salt and pepper. (For more confetti prettiness, incorporate a half-cup or so of diced red pepper during the onion step.)
Succotash comes from the Naragansett word “msickquatash,” which means boiled corn kernels. Quotes from the 1700s attest to the presence of bear meat in the dish. Now it’s nothing nearly so exotic—but still: banish those childhood memories and put real succotash back on the table. It’s an easy, delicious side dish, great with roast chicken. (We ate ours before I could take a picture….)
