Succotash
A delicious and comforting Southern American dish. For a thicker stew, try adding okra at the same time as the butter beans and sweetcorn. Delicious served with cornbread
Ingredients
- 1 smoked ham hock, about 500g/1lb 2oz
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 large onion, diced
- 2 celery sticks, diced
- 1 red pepper, diced
- 1 green pepper, diced
- 200g/7oz butternut squash or pumpkin, peeled and diced
- 1 large courgette, trimmed and diced
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed or few sprigs wild garlic, finely chopped
- few sprigs tarragon, leaves picked
- 250g/9oz sweetcorn
- 400g tin butter beans, drained and rinsed
Method
Cover the ham hock with water and bring to the boil. Discard the first batch of water if the ham is particularly salty, cover the hock again and return to the boil. Turn down the heat and simmer for about 2 hours, until the meat is falling away from the bone. Strain, reserving the cooking liquid, and discard the rind, bone and any gristle from the ham. Pull the meat apart into thick shreds. Set aside.
Heat the oil in a large casserole. Add the onion, celery, peppers, squash and courgette and cook for 5 minutes until the vegetables are starting to look soft around the edges. Add the garlic, tarragon, sweetcorn and beans and cook for a few more minutes. Add the shredded ham and enough cooking liquid to almost cover. Leave to simmer for 8–10 minutes until the vegetables are just tender and the liquid has reduced down a little.
