best black-eyed peas

 

I've amalgamated my own family history of making black-eyed peas with a few other recipes from online, and I'm posting this here so I won't forget next time I have some dried black-eyed peas to play with.

Peas, please! 

You'll need:

• 500 g dried black-eyed peas
• 2 T. grapeseed oil or bacon fat (which is what our son calls "meat-based butter") + a few glugs of olive oil
• 1/4 to 1/2 t. cayenne pepper
• 3 chicken or veggie bouillon cubes
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 t. paprika
• 1 t. thyme
• several bay leaves
• chopped cooked ham
• 2 T. tomato paste
• 1 450-g can of chopped tomatoes
• 1 onion, chopped small
• several green onions, sliced
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 bunch komatsuna greens (or whatever greens you wish), washed, drained, and chopped
• 1 bag frozen green beans, chopped

Do this:

Soak the peas all day in water, changing the water every couple hours. Just before cooking, drain and rinse. 

Saute the onion, garlic, and greens in a big stockpot with the grapeseed oil, and when they're nice and browned and softened, add the black-eyed peas, green beans, water to cover, chopped ham, and all the spices. Simmer till the beans are softened and a lot of the liquid has evaporated. But make sure you keep some of that good pot liquor in there! It's great with cornbread. 

(updated and edited 1/1/2026)