This one comes courtesy of my Chromecast which, when not magically presenting the latest season of The Walking Dead, rotates through images from NASA and various food blogs. If not for the high definition image of this beautiful dish, I would have never gone looking for a recipe involving black eyed peas – easily my least liked legume (and hip hop group).
This dish made me a believer. The syrup and cilantro salsa should be found standing proudly next to any commonly found condiment – I’d put it on everything without thinking twice.
Prep Time: 30 minutes | Cook Time: 1 hour | Total Time: 1.5 hours
INGREDIENTS
Black eyed peas (6 ounces)
Swiss Chard (1 bunch)
Leeks (1 bunch)
Garlic (3 cloves)
Jalapeno (1 large)
Cilantro (1 bunch)
Ground Nutmeg (1 teaspoon)
Chili Pepper (1 tablespoon)
Maple Syrup (3 tablespoons)
Lemon (1 large)
Vegetable Bouillon (1 tablespoon or 1 cube)
CUT ALL THE THINGS!
- Remove the leaves from the chard.
- Dice the stems and leaves.
- Cut the lemon in half.
- Dice the leeks.
- Dice the garlic.
ADD HEAT
- Add 3 quarts of water and your peas to a medium-high pot and bring to a rolling boil.
- Add HALF of the chard, the bouillon, chili pepper, and the juice from half your lemon (feel free to leave the squeezed lemon half in the pot).
- Reduce this down for about 10 minutes (see picture 3 below).
- Once most of the water has boiled off, add the rest of your chard and your leeks.
- Stir and cook for another 10 minutes.
THE BEST PART OF THE DISH
- In a small mixing bowl, add your garlic, the chopped jalapeno and half a cup of chopped cilantro.
- Add to this the syrup and nutmeg.
- Toss all of this into a blender and blend/chop until it’s mostly liquefied. It’s not a big deal if some of the jalapeno doesn’t completely dissolve.
Serve beans topped with a couple tablespoons of the cilantro sauce. Previously hated beans + stellar sauce = amazing dish.
Richard Barrick 