Suffering Succotash!

Here is my first official posting from my new apartment. We moved in nearly 2 weeks ago and I've had some excellent "firsts" there, such as my first indoor hamburger and my first succotash. The latter is very exciting for me, and I'm honestly not sure why...could it be the colors? The New England heritage? Who's to say, but the simplicity of the dish made it perfect for a June weeknight meal. Traditionally succotash contains lima beans, but instead I used small navy beans as I had bought a huge bag of the dried variety. Their creamy texture was a perfect foil for the crisp veggies and smoky bacon.

I have to admit that the dish was premeditated. I think it may have been the half and half in the fridge which truly inspired me. I always found it interesting that recipes for succotash called for it. Enough rambling, here is the recipe.

2 pieces of good quality bacon
a few tbs of olive oil
1 medium onion
dried basil
red pepper flakes
1 cup of half and half
1 package of frozen corn, thawed
1 large bell pepper, chopped into large (1-2 inch) chunks
2-3 cups of small navy beans
1/2 cup chopped Italian parsley

Cut bacon crosswise into 1/2in long pieces. Place into a cold pan with a tbs of the olive oil and cook over med-med/low heat. The trick is to slowly render the bacon, so all the fat comes out and you're left with pretty bacon bits. Once cooked through, take the bacon bits out with a slotted spoon and set aside. Next, put the onions in and cook over medium heat, but only for about 5 minutes or so. You don't want them to be totally translucent. Throw in the corn and navy beans and warm through. Season the mixture with generous amounts of salt and freshly ground black pepper, along with a few pinches of red pepper flakes and a tsp or so of dried basil. If you have fresh basil, then by all means, use it. Next pour in the half and half and give it a good mix. I placed the red pepper chunks on top of the mixture and put the lid on the pan. If you need more liquid for them to steam, just add a touch of chicken broth. Give the peppers about 5 or so minutes to steam, but don't let them get too soft because you still want them to have a nice little bite to them. Finish the dish of with a generous handful of chopped parsley and the bacon bits.

I split a boneless, skinless chicken breast (I know, boring) and sautéed the halves in another pan with a little olive oil and salt and pepper. I served one chicken breast half over a heaping mound of the succotash.