Fresh Black Eyed Peas

Fresh Black Eyed Pea Salad

Ingredients

3/4-lb black eyed peas from your box

3 cloves of garlic, with skin removed

1/2 cup - 1 cup bullhorn pepper

1/2 medium size red onion, diced (or 1/2 onion if it is a large one!)

1 medium-size heirloom tomato chopped into bite-size pieces

basil leaves, diced to make 3 tablespoons

handful of flowering cilantro flowers/leaves

corn (if in season)

olive oil

juice from one lemon

salt

Instructions

I find it much easier to shuck my black-eye peas if I blanch them. Put a pot with a few cups of water on to boil.  You only need to use enough water to submerge the peas. When the water is boiling, add the peas and cover the pot. Simmer for 4 or 5 minutes – this is not meant to cook the peas, just to make them easier to shuck. Remove the pot from the heat, drain the peas into a colander and spray with a bit of water to cool them off. Within 1 or 2 minutes they will be cool enough to start shelling. It took me less than 15 minutes to shell 3/4 pounds. You will end up with about 1 cup of shelled peas.

Now that the peas are shelled, put your pot with a few cups of water back on the stove to boil. Add the shucked peas to the boiling water, along with the garlic cloves. Cover the pot and simmer for 10 minutes.  Check the peas – they should be soft and well-cooked.  If not, leave them a few minutes more. Remove the pot from the stove and let the peas cool a bit in the water while you prepare the rest of the salad. 

Remove the garlic cloves from the water and dice them.

Put the diced pepper, diced garlic, diced red onion, chopped heirloom tomatoes and the diced basil into a salad bowl. Sprinkle the lemon juice over the salad. Sprinkle about 1/4-cup of olive oil over the salad. Add the cooled beans. If they are still a bit warm that is OK. Salt to taste. Mix it all together and serve!

 

Black Eyed Peas with Roasted Eggplant

Ingredients

1-2 cups Black Eyed Peas (if you don’t have quite enough, it is not a big deal!)

2 cups Eggplant (cut into 1 inch cubes)

2 tbsp Olive Oil (divided)

1 large Onion (sliced)

3 Tomatoes (chopped)

1/2 tsp Ginger (grated)

3 cloves of Garlic (grated)

1 tsp Cumin Powder

1 tsp Coriander Powder

1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder

1/2 tsp Chili Powder

1 tsp Salt

2- 3 cups Water

3 tbsp Cilantro

Instructions

Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a pan, add onion and sauté for five minutes. Add ginger, garlic, spices, and tomatoes and cook for another 2- 3 minutes. Add black eye peas, water, and salt and cook for 20- 30 minutes, or until the peas are soft. 

In the meantime, toss eggplant in 1 tbsp olive oil and roast at 350º until brown on each side, about 15- 20 minutes. Add eggplant to the black eyed peas and tomatoes and simmer for another 10 minutes. 

Remove from heat, add cilantro, and stir well. 

Serve hot as a soup, over rice, or with bread. Enjoy!