About This Recipe
I don’t know what it is about succotash that reminds me of fall. I want to make it more often in September and October, even though it’s considered a summer recipe. So this Chicken and Pasta Succotash Salad is a natural progression of that.
Succotash is an old-fashioned recipe that combines lima beans (one of my favorite foods) and corn. This classic recipe is, in fact, a great way for vegetarians to get complete protein. Corn is low in the amino acid lysine but high in methionine and cysteine, and lima beans are low in methionine and cysteine but high in lysine. When these two foods are eaten together, your body gets the amino acids it needs to stay healthy.
Putting that aside, the combination tastes great. By the way, I subscribe to Laurie Colwin’s mantra about lima beans in her wonderful book More Home Cooking, which is “they are pillowy, velvety, and delicious, and people should stop saying mean things about them.”
This main dish salad is an update on the classic chicken salad and combines succotash with chicken and pasta and some other veggies to create a wonderfully fresh main dish perfect for any summer day. The dressing is mustardy, but you can use any dressing you’d like. Enjoy every bite.
Tips for the best Chicken and Pasta Succotash Salad:
- I always use a rotisserie chicken when making salads. No matter how hard I try, I can’t make chicken as tender as the chickens you buy fully cooked from the store.
- Make the dressing first, then add the chicken and veggies. When the pasta is done, drain it over the corn to thaw it, then add to the dressing. The hot pasta will absorb some of the dressing as it cools for more flavor.
Why this recipe works:
- The combination of legumes (lima beans) and corn is an old standby. The ingredients complement each other both in terms of flavor but also nutrition, because together they make a complete protein.
- Adding chicken and pasta to succotash turns the salad into a meal.
- Mustard complements the mild flavors of the remaining ingredients by adding tart flavor
Steps
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1
Done
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Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Meanwhile, combine the mayonnaise, honey mustard, salad dressing, and lemon juice in a large bowl and whisk to combine. |
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2
Done
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Add the chicken and lima beans to the salad dressing and stir. |
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3
Done
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Cook the pasta in the boiling water until al dente. Meanwhile, put the frozen corn in a colander in the sink. When the pasta is done, drain over the corn, then add to the salad. |
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4
Done
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Add the tomatoes, bell pepper, and cheese to the salad and stir to coat. Cover and chill for a few hours before serving. |
