Succotash with Farro Piccolo
 

Sweet, creamy, and comforting, with the supple ‘pop’ of
farro piccolo, the succotash shown here was made with red and yellow sweet corn.
 

Time:30 minutes top to bottom

Reminiscent of late morning sun in a kitchen garden in the midsummer heat of the South, succotash is summer side dish at its most obliging. Fish, chops, roast chicken, grilled chicken, you name it—they love to spoon with our succotash. No spindly, Depression-era vegetable mélange lacking energy and oomph, this succotash carries the perfume of shallots, the briskness of fresh thyme, the welcome backbone of rich chicken stock, and the silky effects of a splash of cream. You’ll want to sit down and polish off the whole bowl. We’ve know—we’ve done it.

Equipment Mise en Place
For this recipe you will need a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan, a small, footed colander, a large skillet or sauteuse (a round pan with small handles and short sides), and a wooden spoon.

Ingredients
1/2 cup (3 ounces) Anson Mills Farro Piccolo
2 cups spring or filtered water
1 1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 shallots, minced (2 tablespoons)
1 cup rich, homemade chicken broth or equivalent low- sodium canned chicken broth
3/4 cup (3 1/2 ounces) fresh shelled lima beans or frozen baby limas (still frozen)
2 medium ears of corn, shucked, silks removed, and kernels sliced from the cob (1 cup, or 5 ounces)
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme
3 tablespoons heavy cream

Directions

1. Place the farro and water in a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a simmer. Lower the heat and simmer very gently until tender, 20 to 25 minutes, adding 1/2 teaspoon salt halfway through cooking time. Remove the pan from the heat and let sit, undrained, until cool. Drain through a fine, footed colander and set aside.

2. Melt the butter in a large skillet or sauteuse over low heat until it foams. Add the shallots and sauté, stirring frequently, until fragrant and softened, 2 minutes. Add the chicken stock, increase the heat to medium, and bring to a simmer. Stir in the lima beans—fresh or frozen—and simmer, uncovered, 2 or 3 minutes. Add the farro, corn, and cream and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables and farro are tender and the chicken stock and cream have reduced to a luscious glaze, about 5 minutes. Stir in the remaining teaspoon of salt, the pepper, and the thyme. Taste for seasoning and serve hot.

Serves 4 as a side dish
 

Cooking Remarks
Lima beans, those things kids loved to hate back when we were little, seem to have gotten scraped off the plate pretty much for good—except in the South. Shelly beans, butter beans, black eyes, limas, all over South Carolina you’ll find fresh beans in green markets—shelled, bagged, and waiting in coolers to be taken home. If you’re “not from around here,” as folks from around here like to say, frozen baby limas may be your best option. Don’t hold the freezer against them—the starch in limas persuades them to freeze beautifully. If you have the good fortune to be “from around here” or you’ve gotten some fresh limas anyway, plunge ahead.

 
 
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