If you received a couple bags of cowpeas, aka black-eyed peas, in your share last week and you’re not quite sure about what to do next, this post is for you.
Two people gabbing away and shelling peas can be ready to cook in a half hour. My yield was 7 oz. or just shy of a half-pound. This will come out to 3 main course servings or 6 side dish servings.
Though the pods were stored at the farm in an area with good ventilation, many developed a splotchy moldy-looking exterior. However, once you crack them open you’ll find that the vast majority of the peas are in fine shape, and very pretty as well with a lot of differences among them. I did discard a small percentage of the peas when I decided that their cloudy gray appearance was likely mold. Usually when the pods were in especially bad shape the peas inside were too.
To prepare: Rinse the peas and then cover them in a saucepan with a quart of water. Add a diced onion and slice of bacon, some salt, and a bay leaf. They’ll cook in 30-40 minutes. Serve with salsa.
Wouldn’t your black-eyed peas go well with some other farm offerings like collards and fried green tomatoes?
Do you have a favorite recipe for black-eyed peas? We’d love to share it with all our farm members. Write to me at rtempel@caastlc.org
Thanks for reading,
Randy
CAASTLC Community Garden Coordinator
