Black-Eyed Peas

/ Elvis Cuisine / By

đź‘‘ Southern Black Eyed Peas – YUM!

Elvis Presley was a true Southern boy at heart; he had no choice. He was raised with simple, delicious meals that stretched the dollar and filled the tummies. A dear friend suggested I highlight some of these, as not everyone knows of these basics. I was raised in the South by Tennessee parents, and so many of these were also my family’s staples.

The black-eyed pea or black-eyed bean is a legume grown worldwide for its medium-sized edible bean. It is a subspecies of the cowpea, an Old World plant domesticated in Africa and is sometimes called a cowpea. The standard commercial variety is called the California Black-eye; it is pale-colored with a prominent black spot. The American South has countless varieties, many of them heirloom, that vary in size from small lady peas to huge ones. The color of the eye may be black, brown, red, pink, or green. All the peas are green when freshly shelled and brown when dried. A popular variationof the black-eyed pea is the purple hull pea.

In the South, eating black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day is thought to bring prosperity in the new year. The peas are typically cooked with pork products for flavoring (such as bacon, ham bones, etc.) and diced onion and sometimes served with a hot chili sauce and ham. Since they swell when cooked, the peas symbolize prosperity; the greens (cabbage, turnip, or mustard greens) symbolize money; the pork, because pigs root forward when foraging, represents positive motion. Cornbread, which means gold, also often accompanies this meal.

So, let’s move ahead to the good stuff. I use dried black-eyed peas, spices, and onions, served with boiled cabbage and cornbread.

1 lb. dried black-eyed peas

1 T oil

1 medium onion, chopped

6 cups water or broth

Salt, pepper, garlic powder, cumin, onion powder – to taste

Cooked ham, ham hock, pork chop, kielbasa

  1. Soak black-eyed peas in water for at least 2 hours or overnight. Rinse well. Note: I’ve cooked without soaking them, and they need a longer cooking time.
  2. Heat oil in a large, heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic; sauté until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes.
  3. Add ham hocks or other meat and water; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook for 1 hour.
  4. Drain peas; add to the pan along with seasoned salt, onion powder, cumin, black pepper, red pepper, and bay leaves. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook for 1 hour.
  5. Uncover the pan and cook until the peas are tender, for about 30 more minutes. Remove bay leaves and ham hocks before serving.

Serve with your delicious crumbly hot cornbread and greens – yummy stuff!