Sunday, January 13, 2008

Sunday

Black eyed pea stew (completely untested stab at a new recipe in the comments - let me know if you try it!)
Cornbread
Sauteed red and green peppers

Hot tea
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This recipe was both excellent and disappointing. How is that possible? Well, it's a rare feat! The flavors in the stew were wonderful - definitely top marks. BUT, despite an extra hour and a half of cooking, the beans never got cooked thoroughly. By the time we ate it, they were "al dente", rather than hard. Still, that's not a preferred bean consistency. Despite the recipe's claims that pre-soaking is unnecessary, I disagree (wholeheartedly!). In the end though, I would re-invent this recipe, using canned black-eyed peas. I think that would make it much easier and much tastier (at least than the version with unsoaked beans). We will definitely be trying "our" version soon! We tried a new cornbread mix (Arrowhead Mills), which was fantastic. We both agreed that it was as good as our homemade cornbread! What a find!

Prep Notes
Difficulty: Easy, but inordinately long cooking time, especially for moderately hard beans.
Chopping: Onion, kielbasa
Time: 25 minutes to prep, 3 hours to cook (mostly)
Make ahead: I certainly hope so!


Reaction
J: "Amazing, even with hard beans! What a recipe!"
M: "Very, very delicious, but, mmm, toothy."

1 comment:

J said...

Black Eyed Pea Stew - M & J (inspired by Cooking Light)
"Amazing even with hard beans - that's a rare feat!" - 1/08
Serves 6

1 T canola oil
1 medium onion, chopped
8 oz kielbasa, halved and sliced into 1/2" pieces
4 cups vegetable broth
2 cans black eyed peas, rinsed and drained
1 t salt
1/2 t crushed red pepper
1/2 t black pepper
2 bay leaves
1 T cider vinegar
1 28 oz can diced tomatoes, undrained
10 oz. mixed greens (collards, kale, turnip, mustard or any single green)

Heat oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook until translucent (3 minutes). Add kielbasa and cook for 4 additional minutes or until onion is beginning to brown. Stir in broth and bring to a simmer. Stir in peas, salt, red and black pepper. Cook, uncovered, for 15 minutes or until liquid begins to thicken.

Stir in vinegar, tomatoes, and greens (you may need to add the greens in batches and wait for them to wilt). Simmer 15 more minutes or until peas are tender and flavors have melded. Discard bay leaves.