Black-eyed peas salad

Black-eyed peas salad

By MARTHA ROSE SHULMAN
Published: December 29, 2008

One of my New Year’s resolutions is to use up all of the bags and half-filled bags of dried beans in my pantry before they get too old. Dried beans won’t spoil with age, but once they are more than a year old, they take longer to cook. And sometimes old beans never seem to soften up no matter how long you cook them.

Beans are an economical, delicious and comforting way to feed your family well. They are an excellent source of protein, low in fat and exceptionally high in fiber. They are also a good source of calcium, iron, folic acid and potassium. Perhaps it is because beans are so economical that the custom of eating them on New Year’s Day for prosperity exists in so many cultures. Here we eat black-eyed peas (Italians and southern French eat chickpeas; Japanese eat red beans). Try this warm black-eyed peas salad on the first of the year. A Southerner would scoff at this dish, which contains no ham hocks or salt pork. The vibrant salad, which I like to serve warm, proves that those ingredients are not essential for great black-eyed peas.

New Year’s Black-Eyed Peas Salad

For the beans:
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 or 4 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound black-eyed peas, washed and picked over
6 cups water
1 bay leaf
Salt to taste

For the dressing and salad:
1/4 cup red wine vinegar or sherry vinegar
1 garlic clove, minced
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 to 2 teaspoons lightly toasted cumin, ground (to taste)
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 cup broth from the beans
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 large red bell pepper, diced
1/2 cup chopped cilantro

1. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large, heavy soup pot over medium heat and add the onion. Cook, stirring, until tender, about 5 minutes. Add half the garlic and cook, stirring, until the garlic is fragrant, 30 seconds to a minute. Add the black-eyed peas and the water and bring to a simmer. Skim off any foam from the surface of the water. Add the bay leaf and salt to taste (1 to 2 teaspoons). Reduce the heat, cover and simmer 30 minutes. Taste and add more salt if desired. Add the remaining garlic, cover and simmer until the beans are tender but intact. Taste and adjust salt. Remove from the heat and carefully drain through a colander or strainer set over a bowl. Transfer the beans to a large salad bowl.

2. In a glass measuring cup or a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, garlic, salt, pepper, cumin, and mustard. Whisk in 1/2 cup of the bean broth, then the olive oil. Taste and adjust seasonings. Add a little more vinegar if you wish. Stir the dressing into the warm beans. Stir in the red pepper and cilantro, and serve, or allow to cool and serve at room temperature.

Yield: Serves 6 to 8

Advance preparation: The beans will keep for five days in the refrigerator; toss them with the vinaigrette, but if you aren’t serving them right away, wait and add the cilantro just before serving.

Approximate Nutritional Information per Serving:
Calories: 151; calories from fat: 102; total fat: 11.3g; cholesterol 0mg; sodium: 27mg; total carbohydrates: 10.2g; dietary fiber: 2.4g; sugars: 1.7g; protein: 3.2g. (Based on eight servings. Nutritional information provided by calorie-count.com)





Find this recipe at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/29/health/nutrition/29recipehealth.html?em