creamy seafood succotash pasta

perfect pasta leftover hack

Tips

lima beans

I came up with this pasta dish in an effort to reduce food waste. If you have canned lima beans, or make lima beans regularly and have leftovers; I strongly encourage using those. If not, dry lima beans will do, you’ll just need to do a little more work.
For dry lima bean: Soak in 3 cups of water for at least 2 hours before use. Optional: Squeeze lima beans through your thumb and index finger to remove shells if you’d like.

prepare okra

Okra can be very slimy, in order to combat this, toss sliced okra in salt.
For frozen okra: put frozen okra in strainer, rinse with water to get excess ice/ frozen. Toss in 2 teaspoons of salt and let sit until ready to use. When ready to use rinse one more time and pat dry.
Fresh okra: clean and slice okra, place in strainer. Toss in 2 teaspoons of salt and let sit until ready to use. When ready to use rinse one more time and pat dry.

Creamy Succotash pasta

Preparation Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 30 minutes | Serving size: 4

Gather

• 1 pound shrimp, cleaned and deshelled (approximately 16 large shrimp)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 2 teaspoons onion powder
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon white pepper 
• 1 teaspoon cayenne or chili flakes
• 2 tablespoons butter or neutral oil 
• ½ cup dry lima beans (see tips) or 2 cups cooked or canned lima beans, rinsed and drained 
• 2 cups frozen okra, thawed (see tips for prep)
• 1 medium onion chopped  
• 4 cloves of minced garlic
• 1¾ cup heavy cream 
• 1½ cup chicken broth or water 
• ½ pound pasta (I used spaghetti)
• 2 cups corn
• 1 cup parmesan (shredded or grated)
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes (cut in half, optional)

Follow

1. In a large bowl, combine salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, white pepper and cayenne (or chile flakes). Coat shrimp and set aside while pan heats. 
2. Heat large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon of butter (or neutral oil).
3. Add shrimp to pot, cook for 2 minutes on each side, remove from pot and set aside 
4. Add final tablespoon of butter (or neutral oil), lima beans, okra and chopped onions. Cook for 5-8 minutes. 
5. Add garlic, 1½ cup heavy cream, chicken broth and pasta (try not to break the pasta). Bring to a boil, cover with a lid and slightly reduce heat. Cook for 10-15 minutes; pasta should be on the lesser side of al dente.
6. Add corn and cook for an additional 5 minutes.
7. Add final ¼ cup of heavy cream and Parmesan, combine and then add shrimp.
8. Cook until sauce is thickened and shrimp heated about 4 minutes.