Sofrito Succotash

The key ingredient in this corn and bean side dish is sofrito. The flavor base is sautéed and then combined with baby lima beans and corn – the Caribbean meets Native American!

INGREDIENTS:
Salted water
8 ears fresh corn
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon achiote seeds
1 cup sofrito
¼ cup alcaparrado
½ teaspoon ground cumin
2 bay leaves
1 cup frozen baby lima beans
2 plum tomatoes, peeled, seeded and medium diced
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Freshly chopped cilantro

DIRECTIONS:
1. In a large stock pot, bring salted water to a boil.
2. Lower heat to simmer, add corn, and cook 5 minutes.
3. Drain and set aside to cool.
4. In small frying pan gently heat olive oil; add achiote seeds until the color of a sunset.
5. Strain oil into large sauté pan; discard seeds.
6. In large saucepan heat achiote oil over medium low heat, and add sofrito, alcaparrado, cumin and bay leaves (you can also add a little brine from the alcaparrado).
7. While water cooks out, scrap kernels off cobs and into bowl, separating kernels with fingers.
8. Add corn to pan, along with baby lima beans and diced tomatoes.
9. Season with salt and black pepper.
10. Lower heat to simmer, cook and cover 13-15 minutes, until lima beans are tender and cooked through.
11. Sprinkle finished dish with cilantro, stir and serve.

Notes:
** Alcaparrado: a mixture of green olives, capers, and pimientos
** Achiote seeds: a slightly musky-flavored seed of the annatto tree; available whole or ground, and can be found in East Indian, Spanish and Latin American markets
** Sofrito: A tomato based sauce for cooking beans, rice dishes, soups and other Caribbean and Latin dishes; made with tomato paste, peppers, spices, coriander and onion

Serves 8
Adapted from LATINA 2005

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