Southern Style Black-Eyed Peas
This recipe is from Deborah Madisons cookbook Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. It is a great vegetarian take on a southern favorite that almost always calls for pork products. While I am a pork lover, I dont miss it in this very flavorful recipe. To make this dish an entree, serve over cornbread to soak up all the delicious bean liquor from the cooking process.
This recipe is from Deborah Madisons cookbook Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. It is a great vegetarian take on a southern favorite that almost always calls for pork products. While I am a pork lover, I dont miss it in this very flavorful recipe. To make this dish an entree, serve over cornbread to soak up all the delicious bean liquor from the cooking process.
- salt
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion diced
- 1 tbsp butter
- 3 bay leaves
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1/2 tsp ground allspice
- 1 small green pepper finely diced
- 1 celery rib finely diced
- 3 tbsp fresh thyme
- 1/2 tsp ground chipotle chile
- 2 cups fresh black-eyes peas; or 1 cup dried
- 1 quart water or basic vegetable stock
- Carbohydrate 10.5556950008929 g
- Cholesterol 15.265 mg
- Fat 19.5498475000614 g
- Fiber 2.48295004180537 g
- Protein 1.66640250020305 g
- Saturated Fat 5.60028650001706 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (379g)
- Sodium 146.753250000329 mg
- Sugar 8.07274495908753 g
- Trans Fat 0.847413000021912 g
- Calories 216 calories
Step-by-step
- Heat the oil and better in a high-walled saucepan or soup pot. Saute onion, pepper, celery, bay leaves, thyme and garlic over medium heat until starting to brown. Add allspice and chile powder and cook until fragrant.
- Add the peas (husks and skins removed) and water. Bring to a boil and simmer over low heat for 40 minutes, partially uncovered.
- Taste and add salt to taste (2 tsp are suggested). Cook another 20 minutes until peas are tender but not mushy. Serve with cornbread or rice to absorb the highly flavored broth.
Rich broth infused with bay leaf, fresh thyme, and smoky chipotle coats tender legumes with earthy warmth. Traditional versions rely heavily on salt pork or ham hocks for depth, but this adaptation achieves similar savory complexity through strategic fat layering and spice blooming. Heat olive oil and butter together in a high-walled saucepan to capture the high smoke point of oil alongside the distinct milk solids of butter, which brown and add nutty undertones. Dice the onion, green bell pepper, and celery finely to create an aromatic base that releases moisture evenly, sweating down until the edges turn golden brown over medium heat. Introduce the ground allspice and chipotle chile directly into the hot fat and aromatics for thirty seconds, allowing fat-soluble compounds in the spices to open up before adding the liquid. Simmer the mixture partially uncovered for forty minutes to concentrate the broth without scorching the bottom of the pan. Finish by salting only after the initial simmer so the skins remain tender rather than toughening prematurely in saline water. Cool any remaining portions quickly in shallow containers and refrigerate for up to four days, noting that the starches continue absorbing liquids and thicken the broth further overnight. Reheat leftovers gently on the stovetop with a splash of water to restore the original consistency.
