You know, of course, that we Americans, and particularly people from the American South, must eat black eyed peas on New Years’ Day, because it guarantees good luck in the new year. I had hoped to find some fresh black eyed peas, but alas, they’re very hard to come by in California. Perhaps they’re available everywhere in the South. Most years I haven’t paid much attention to the tradition, but I decided we needed to guarantee it for 2012! Instead of making hoppin’ John, a hot black eyed pea dish, I decided to make a cold salad. I went to Eat Your Books to see what recipes I had on my own bookshelves, and immediately went to Deborah Madison’s vegetarian cookbook, Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone
Dried Beans
Do remember that it’s best to buy a fresh bag of dried beans rather than use any that have languished in your pantry for a year. Despite the fact that they’re dried and you’d think they couldn’t get any more dry, they can, and they do. Also, don’t add any salt to the cooking pot until the beans are tender – some experts tell us that adding it early on will guarantee the beans will never get tender.
Even though I mostly followed Deborah Madison’s recipe, I made a couple of deviations. I added a slice of bacon to the beans as they were simmering to tenderness, but that’s optional. And fished it out once they were cooked since it was soggy. The bacon added some nice smoky flavor to the beans. Once drained I added in the tomato, feta, green onions, parsley and oregano. The dressing is a lemony one, and this is where I deviated. I did use lemon juice (our winter crop is in full swing right now), but I added twice as much lemon juice as called for. Beans just love acid. I learned this many years ago when making one of my favorites – and I didn’t name this salad – Paul Prudhomme did – it’s called The Best Bean Salad. In that salad (also a cold bean salad) you add a whole LOT of apple cider vinegar. In the write-up about the recipe Paul even said it’s not a typo, yes, it’s almost all vinegar and he explained something about the chemistry involved – beans have a natural affinity to acid – they soak it up and mellow it. That bean salad is so low in fat it’s almost non-existent. So, I knew it would work in this recipe as well. That’s why I added twice as much lemon juice, since I knew it would be fine, and it was. It also gives the salad a piquant taste.
If at all possible, let this salad chill overnight. If you can’t, then at least give it 4-6 hours. That gives the lemon juice time to be absorbed by the beans. The flavors do mingle so much better with time to sit.
What I liked: If you like bean salads, you’ll like everything about this. Not hard. Makes a bunch. If you cut down on the oil (which you probably could do easily enough) it could be low in fat too. The little bit of crunch (green onions) is good. I might even add some red bell pepper to it as well. Since I love feta cheese, it was a good addition.
What I didn’t like: not much, other than the chore of having to soak the beans overnight, and the hour or two of cooking (and cooling) them before you start making the salad. But nothing about it is hard, so I’m not complaining! It also makes a LOT – people don’t take huge portions of a bean salad, unless it’s the only thing they’re eating.
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Black Eyed Pea Salad with Tomato and Feta
Recipe By: Adapted from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, by Deborah Madison
Serving Size: 12 (small portions)
NOTES: Beans have a natural chemistry when combined with an acid (like vinegar or lemon juice) so you might think it will be too strong. If you allow the beans to absorb the dressing for several hours or overnight, you’ll find the salad very mellow.
1 pound black-eyed peas
1 slice bacon — (optional) chopped
4 whole scallions — including an inch or two of the greens, thinly sliced
3 medium tomatoes — (small) seeded and chopped, or 1/2 cup of drained, good quality canned tomatoes
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1 teaspoon dried oregano
3 ounces feta cheese — diced or crumbled
Salt and freshly milled pepper
LEMON VINAIGRETTE:
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice — (this is double what the recipe called for)
2 teaspoons lemon zest
1 teaspoon salt
1 large shallot
10 tablespoons olive oil (that’s half a cup plus 2 T.)
1. Dressing: Combine in a blender the lemon juice, zest, salt and shallot in a blender and puree, then add oil, taste and adjust salt and pepper to taste. The dressing will be very acidic (it should be) but will be absorbed by the beans.
2. Simmer soaked peas in salted water, about an inch above the beans, with the bacon, in a covered saucepan until tender; it will take 35 minutes to 1 hour.
3. Drain the beans (save the liquid for another use if you’d like) and place in a bowl along with the scallions, tomato, parsley, and oregano. Pour the vinaigrette over the peas and toss gently with a rubber spatula. Add the cheese, some pepper, and toss again. Taste for salt. Chill for at least 4 hours, or better yet, overnight. Serve chilled or at room temperature. Stir well before serving as the dressing will sink to the bottom.
Per Serving: 261 Calories; 14g Fat (45.6% calories from fat); 11g Protein; 26g Carbohydrate; 5g Dietary Fiber; 7mg Cholesterol; 276mg Sodium.
Toffeeapple
said on January 12th, 2012:
Serendipity! I discovered a pack of Black Eyed peas on my shelf this morning and wondered what to do with them. This sounds ideal.
Do you have a lemon harvest twice in a year or just in winter? I bought a lime squeezer just like yours and I think it is wonderful, thank you for posting about it.
We get a really long lemon harvest in the summer, then the tree begins budding again almost before I’ve removed all of the ripe lemons. But it takes from about September to now for the lemons to get to size and ripeness. The summer harvest is usually much larger. I do adore my Meyer tree, though. And so glad you like the squeezer. It’s a real winner! As for the salad, we served it the other night on top of crackers and it was delicious that way too. They’re finally all gone . . . carolyn t