If any have you have ever heard Sylvester (the cat loony toon) say this and wonder what the hell he was saying (apparently Daffy duck did so also on occasion but we'll leave that be at the moment) then he's saying: sufferin' succotash!
Now why would Sylvester say such a thing? Well, as it turns out, Sylvester, along with other looneys of the time, wanted to refrain from taking god's name in vain, kal vachomer to avoid associating it with swear words. So in his endeavor to sin without actually sinning, a malapropism came to his aid, and instead of exclaiming "Suffering Savior!!" (yaanu, "Jesus Christ!") he said: "Sufferin' Succotash!"
However, this minced oath, is sneakier that one might readily assume, so the second question becomes what for G-d's sake is Succotash? Well... its this:
Succotash, according to the Narragansett Indian Tribe of Rhode Island, means "broken corn kernel", and is a simple dish made of corn, beans, peppers and/or tomatoes...and basically what you have lying around, which wasn't much else, since its popularity surged during the great depression.
Which if you think about now, the historical-theological allusion made by the above looney toon in his seemingly innocent exclamation of "Sufferin' Succotash", is pretty remarkable.
But back to the point (which hasn't been made yet), The only reason I was walking around saying I must make Succotash was because I needed an excuse to say "Succotash, Succotash" 20 times a day, which if you put your heart into saying, you'll see that it is really quite wonderful.
Although it looks rather unremarkable, there's a secret to it. The Corn. I'm not really a corn person. First and foremost, I can blame my parents god bless 'em, especially my dad you seemed to be the driving force behind that steamed corn on a cob with butter and salt concoction. Second of all there is the canned horror that uncanny kids, on scouts trips, thought it was supercool to sprinkle daintily over their "Hashachar" chocolate spread. And then there was that corn doesn't get digested bit, and then to top that, there's corn industry which is responsible for wrecking general havoc. And in Israel its OK, you can lead a happy comfortable shielded from corn life. Even on trips cause there are always people like me to veto the atrocity, and make everyone carry fresh veggies and herbs instead, so we can all make open fire rustic Calzones (cause I vetoed the cheap white bread too, and made them buy fresh baked lafot).
But I digress. America on the other hand, is a different matter. And while I spent all summer ignoring the piles of it in the farmer's market, the last time I spied it in the market, the word Succotash came into my head, and that was that.
The corn was bought. Peeled. Tasted. Yum. You didn't even need to steam it or cover it with butter and salt to make it pass for some taste, it was milky and sweet just like it was. And the Succotash that followed was this:
1 red onion chopped
1/2 red bell pepper chopped
1/2 orange bell pepper chopped
1/2 poblano pepper (for a bit of heat but didn't end up feeling it)
1 can black beans, strained
Fresh raw corn kernels from 2 cobs
Fresh thyme
Salt 'n Pepper
1/4 cup water
2-3 tablespoons Olive oil and/or butter (I did it with butter to try the original version, minus the lard, but think only olive oil will be just fine)
Fresh cilantro (i didn't have any and was upset)
Preparation: Saute onion and thyme in butter or olive oil till soft and slightly golden, add peppers and saute for a few minutes (~3), add the corn and beans, salt 'n pepper, stir everything, add water cover and simmer for about 5 minutes.
That's it. I thought that fresh cilantro on top would give it a great finish but alas, there was none.
We also accompanied the succotash with guacamole, homemade flour tortillas, and a fresh tomato salad. We basically put everything in the tortilla, rolled it up and ate.
But the Succotash would be just fine on its own.
