Recipe: Creamed Succotash (with bacon and tomatoes)

CREAMED SUCCOTASH

2 1/2 cups fresh lima beans
6 strips bacon, diced
2 large onions, finely chopped
2 1/2 cups fresh corn kernels
2 cups peeled and chopped ripe tomatoes, with their juices
3/4 cup half-and-half
Salt and pepper, to taste
Hot pepper sauce, such as Tabasco, to taste

Place lima beans in a medium-size saucepan with enough salted water to cover. Bring to a moderate simmer, cover and cook about 15 minutes until tender. Drain.

Meanwhile, in a large, heavy pot, fry bacon over moderate heat until crisp. Drain bacon on paper towels. Pour off all but about 3 tablespoons of bacon drippings.

Add onions and stir until softened, about 2 minutes.

Add lima beans, corn, tomatoes with juices and half-and-half. Stir well and cook another 5 minutes.

Season with salt, pepper and hot pepper sauce and cook, stirring, until mixture has thickened slightly.

Transfer succotash to an earthenware tureen or deep serving dish and serve hot.

Makes 8 servings
Source: My Mother's Southern Entertaining by James Villas with Martha Pearl Villas