Edamame and bacon? Register for me.

The first time I tried succotash was about three weeks ago. I am at Real & Rosemary and I gradually understand that this is a Birmingham institution. I thought, if I threw my face to the south first, it might as well start with my mouth.

"Oh! Succotash!" I exclaimed. I am a newbie in the South. Due to lack of confidence, "soo-ko-tash" appeared in succotash. I let each syllable tremble around my tongue and then come out timidly. "Succotash," my lunch partner corrected kindly. With the correct pronunciation, I ordered it at the counter.

Succotash comes from the Narragansett word msíckquatash, which means "cooked whole corn." Before coming to the South, the only things I knew about corn were buttered corn (problems), corn on the cob (butter can be added, but only if the corn kernels don’t get stuck in my teeth), and corn bread (please add sugar)). When I looked at the small ceramic bowl that my succotash came in, I wanted to try this new corn.

I put the fork on my nose and sniffed it lightly. This is a four-step system when my family tries new things. First, it must sound good. If the idea of ​​something is not very tasty, it will not work, even if we have never seen this dish. Lima beans and corn sound good, so succotash passes on to the next step: it must look good. It is true. Then, it must smell good. This interpretation has the fragrance of corn and cream. If the food passes the three gatekeepers, then only then can it be placed on her tongue.

Sukotas rolled off my fork and entered my mouth under the warm squeeze of a friend. The crunchy corn kernels meet the smooth lima beans and seasonal vegetables. They are far away from me now, but succotash is not. I like it very much and I want to try again.

So, when I stumbled upon Katie Jacob's edamame and bacon Succotash, I thought I could give it a try. If I were to add a succotash recipe to my arsenal, it could also be this. I am a lover of edamame-soybeans may be my favorite beans.

Have ulterior motives? There is a pound of Costco bacon in my pantry, and I only made one dent. In order to adapt to all of this and make it my own, I roughly doubled the recipe (I am a reckless cook and rarely measure anything if I can escape), chopped off the red pepper (not a fan), Then made the potentially wrong decision of shelling two pounds of edamame (because I was cheap).

Final result? It's delicious. I'm satisfied to eat it for the rest of the week. If you really put it on top like me, a little black pepper will make things spicy. The corn has a crunchy feel, the edamame has a slightly creamy taste, and the basil has a fresh sweetness. Don't miss the green onions. I almost did it, but I ended up going back to the store to get some. As far as I know, Sukotas is a side dish, but I admit that I eat it like a salad-cornbread on the side.

With this succotash recipe, I crossed out one more thing from my Southern Enlightenment list. The others so far are fried green tomatoes (yum), boiled peanuts (also yum), and kale (for me) Good but not special), and one meat and three (real experience). What's the next step? Maybe it was a football game in Alabama. I need to see what all the noise is about.