Mexican Succotash

There is no doubt about it that we love Mexican food. We eat it quite often. It is always a go-to for us. Making Mexican just comes naturally to me. Years ago, one of my chefs told me my heart was Mexican. Of course he told me in Spanish – “No esta una Americana o Gringo. Tu corazon esta Mexicana“.

We are still trying to use up our leftovers, certainly before I start making more dishes for Easter and this week while we have company. But we still need balanced meals. If I have leftover main dishes, then I need to make side dishes to go with them, and vice versa. This time I made a Mexican succotash as a side dish.

Succotash is a dish primarily consisting of corn and lima beans, often with other ingredients like tomatoes, peppers, and okra. It’s a popular side dish, particularly in the United States, with origins in the Narragansett Native American language. Instead of lima beans, I added some zucchini and crookneck squash, onions, Mexican spices and topped it all off with toasted pine nuts, or pinoles.

Mexican Succotash

As usual, I kept tweaking it until it was just right.

1 zucchini, sliced

1 crookneck, sliced

1 cup corn

2-3 tomatoes -although I had 1 HUGE heirloom, and only used 1/2 of it

1/2 red onion, diced small

salt & fresh ground black pepper to taste

dash of cayenne pepper

1-2 tsp dried oregano

1 TBSP fresh thyme or 1 tsp of dried thyme

1-2 tsp cumin

1/4 cup toasted pine nuts

Look at the size of these big, beautiful heirloom tomatoes. They are HUGE!!!!

One tomato was bigger than my hand, and I don’t have small hands either.

Get a large skillet very hot, then add the olive oil, corn, zucchini, crookneck, onions and seasonings. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

After the vegetables have softened and the onions are translucent, add the tomatoes and continue to cook for an additional 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently. Just cook long enough for the tomatoes to heat up, but you don’t want them mushy or to break down.

Add the pine nuts right before serving.

!Delicioso! !Disfrutar! This delicious side dish will go well with anything you want to serve it with. I served it alongside some fried chicken and mashed potatoes.

Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.