Summer Succotash Salad – Upgraded Succotash for Summer – Fresh Corn Off the Cob, Baby Lima Beans, Tomatoes, Green Beans, Sweet Pepper
Take a look at these bright green lima beans. Cooked from frozen, they’re an essential ingredient in Summer Succotash Salad (recipe). Upgraded succotash for summer looks more colorful and tastes much fresher than the succotash I grew up with as a kid in California. Then, the succotash was cooked as a side dish and came from a bagged mix of frozen lima beans and corn. I 
always loved the name but not the dish. Those lima beans were memorable as pale and oddly textured. Whereas these limas are memorable as bright and fresh tasting.
Make Summer Succotash Salad now
Summer Succotash Salad is only as delicious as its ingredients. For the most flavorful, bright, crisp,wonderful salad, make it now while fresh sweet corn, vine-ripened tomatoes and tender green beans are at their peak of flavor and vitality.
It’s all in the cooking
To make my first Summer Succotash Salad I asked my husband to pick up some frozen shelled edamame. If there weren’t any, then buy a bag of frozen baby limas. He 
came home with the frozen limas. Oh my, just looking at that pale picture on the bag brought up sad memories. The bag went into the freezer to keep it out of sight until I figured out what to do with it.
Without an alternative I retrieved the bag, thinking that I might at least give the lima beans a try. I put water in a pot and put it on the stove. Then, for some reason, I stopped to read the package directions.
“Bring ½ cup water to a boil. Add contents of bag and return to boil. Reduce heat to medium, cover and boil gently for 10-15 minutes or until tender, stirring once during cooking. Avoid overcooking. Season to taste and serve. For ½ bag, add 1/3 cup water.”
Okay then. I removed all but ½ cup of the water in the pot and added a large pinch of salt. Once the water came to a boil, the whole bag of frozen baby limas went in. The pot covered, the heat lowered and the timer set for 10 minutes.
Miracle of miracles
I gave the limas a stir in the beginning and then again at 8 minutes when I decided to test a 
bean. Tender, flavorful and a lovely shade of green. I tested another couple of beans. Nothing like the sad, pale beans of my past. Once drained and cooled in an ice bath, these were miraculously fresh and tasty lima beans.
Not that I know how much better frozen limas can be, I realize that all the limas in my past had most likely been overcooked. With my dislike reversed, I happily include baby limas in Summer Succotash Salad. Now that you know the secret to cooking them, perhaps you will, too.
So, what’s succotash?
“. . . a food dish consisting primarily of sweet corn with lima beans or other shell beans. Other ingredients may be added including tomatoes, green or sweet red peppers,[2] and okra….Because of the relatively inexpensive and more readily available ingredients, the dish was popular during the Great Depression in the United States[citation needed]. ” Wikipedia
Summer Succotash Salad
For the best flavor, texture and color, make Summer Succotash Salad while sweet corn, vine-ripened tomatoes and tender green beans are at their peak. Crisp, bright, fresh and sturdy, Summer Succotash Salad holds up well for picnics, potlucks and box lunches. Naturally gluten-free and vegan. Inspired by and adapted from a recipe from Bobby Flay.
Makes 4-8 servings Printer-Friendly Recipe
Active time 1 hour
Total time 1 hour
Ingredients
Dressing
1 large clove garlic, pressed or very finely minced
1 teaspoon homemade or commercial country-style mustard
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar (raw, unfiltered)
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
¼ teaspoon salt
Dozen twists freshly ground pepper
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
Vegetables and herbs
1 pound frozen baby lima beans
2 ½ cups fresh, sweet raw corn cut from the cobs (2 large ears)
½ pound fresh green beans (2 ½ cups uncooked)
1 ½ cups cored, ½-inch diced fresh tomatoes (½ pound)
1 cup seeded, ¼-inch diced red bell pepper
½ cup thinly sliced scallions
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
Preparation
- Begin preparing the dressing: Place the garlic, mustard, apple cider and white wine
vinegars, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Set this aside while you prepare the vegetables and herbs. - In a small pot bring ½ cup of water with a pinch of salt to a boil. Stir in the frozen baby lima beans. Cover the pot and reduce the heat to medium. Stir once or twice. Test a lima at 8 minutes. If not tender, cook for another minute and test again. When tender, test a couple more limas. If they’re all tender, drain the limas and place them in a small bowl with ice cubes and cool water. When cool, drain the limas and set them aside while you prepare the rest of the vegetables and herbs.
Use a knife to cut the corn kernels off the cob. Put the corn in a large bowl.- Bring a small pot of water with a pinch of salt to a boil. Trim the stem end of the green beans, then cut them in approximately 2-inch lengths. Stir them into the boiling water. Test them after 4 ½ minutes. If tender, drain the green beans and place them in a small bowl with ice cubes and cool water. When cool, drain the beans and pat them dry. Add them to the bowl with the corn.
- Dice the tomatoes and bell pepper, thinly slice the scallions and finely chop the fresh herbs.
Add them to the bowl with the corn, along with the lima beans. - Complete the salad dressing: Whisk the olive oil into the previously prepared salad dressing ingredients.
- Toss the salad ingredients with the dressing, adjusting the salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve Summer Succotash Salad as an entrée or as a side salad.