My go-to bean recipes are all made in the crock pot, so when the only blackeyed peas I could find for New Year’s Day were fresh, I had to find a recipe on how to cook them! The recipe on the package clearly indicated the author is not from the South because the finished and unseasoned peas were intended for use in salads, soups, stews and casseroles. Hello-o-o-o-o! In the South, cooked peas can be served as a stand-alone entrée or a hearty side dish. We use leftover peas in casseroles like Hoppin’ John or Texas Caviar.
So here is how you can prepare fresh and authentic, Southern-style black-eyed peas.
- 11 oz package Melissa’s Blackeyed Peas (look in produce section)
- 1 strip bacon
- 1/4 cup diced fresh onion
- 1 small clove garlic, diced
- 2-1/2 cups water
Fry the bacon crisp in a small non-stick skillet and reserve the cooked bacon for later use. Sauté the onion and garlic in the drippings, then remove pan from heat.
In a 2-3 quart saucepan, bring the water to a boil and add the fresh peas and cooked onion and garlic. Bring the vegetables back to a boil and cook on high for 5 minutes. Add the cooked bacon to the top of the peas, cover the pot, and reduce heat to low (1 or 2 on a scale of 0-9). Simmer the peas for 20 minutes. The majority of the peas should be soft without going mushy. Remove the bacon and serve hot with salsa as an optional garnish.
Vegetarian: sauté the onion and garlic in a non-stick skillet with olive oil or Pam, and add 1/4-1/2 teaspoon salt to the water as you bring it to a boil.
