New Year’s Day is long gone and we are fast approaching the half way point of January, but that hasn’t stopped me from savoring several batches of black-eyed peas. Typically reserved and hyped up for New Year’s Day, I began wondering how many of you enjoy them throughout the year. These delicious beans are well known in Southern (including Texas, which is not to be confused with Southern) and Southwestern cooking, but the nutrition of the black-eyed pea makes it an excellent addition to any menu.
Considered a plant food, they make a great substitute for meat when planning meals. One serving alone is equal to one-half cup of protein minus the fat and cholesterol and with a whopping 70 calories per serving, they make a low- calorie option when served without additional condiments. As with all legumes, black-eyed peas are a good fiber source, they are also a rich source of potassium, zinc, and iron. I guess it’s fair to say then that beans really are the magical fruit!
I personally love black-eyed peas. Back in the day, before I learned to cook and dollars were tight, I would eat these puppies right of the can. Sounds pretty gross now but hard times call for drastic measures. Fortunately those days are long gone, I can at least afford the frozen one’s but thanks to my friend and colleague JL Fields, I’ve learned to easily and quickly whip up a batch or two in the pressure cooker. That’s right, Pressure. Cooker. I’ll be sharing a review about JL’s new book, Vegan Pressure Cooking, at another time but today I’m giving you a recipe of what I’ve whipped up lately.
Stand back ya’ll cause black-eyed peas are no longer just for New Year’s.
Spicy Black-Eyed Peas
Ingredients:
1 package of fresh black-eyed peas, unsoaked
1 onion, diced
1 red pepper, diced
1 jalapeno, seeds removed and diced
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1 tbls. olive oil
3 cups no-salt vegetable broth
1 – 15oz. can of no-salt diced tomatoes
Heat the oil in the pressure cooker on medium-high heat, add the onion and red pepper and sauté’ until softened for about 3-4 minutes, add the jalapeño and sauté another 1- minutes. Add in the crushed red pepper flakes and stir for about 1 minute longer. Slowly add in the vegetable broth one cup at time, completely covering the peas plus a tad more. When pressure cooking you always want to lean toward more liquid then less.
Once the beans are covered add in the can of tomatoes and stir everything together. Place the lid tightly and securely onto the pot (please follow the directions and suggestions manual for your particular brand of pressure cooker) and bring to pressure for 8 minutes. After 8 minutes remove the pot from the hot burner and sit aside for a natural release. After the pressure has released, open the lid away from you and Ta-Da, delicious black-eyed peas!!!
Note: If you are uncomfortable using a pressure cooker go straight to Amazon NOW and order JL Fields, Vegan Pressure Cooking and never look back.
I’ve used these peas in several dishes but this was one of my favorites.
Make some brown rice, top it with the peas and then do this…
add sautéed collard greens with garlic chips. Oh my!!!
These peas are also delicious over “cheesy” grits with greens of your choice on top. I can’t get enough ya’ll which means this might be the YEAR of the black-eyed pea for me.
Mending the mind and body (with a lil comfort food),
Kat