TEX-MEX BLACKEYE PEAS

If you are like me, you probably had never put tex-mex together with blackeye peas.  Well, that was before a friend of mine, Dolores, brought me some homemade chicken tamales and these awesome peas.  They absolutely topped any charra beans I have ever had.  Of course I had to have the recipe.  I mean this was a dish I knew I was going to want to make over and over again.  She did one better, she came over and showed me how to make them.

Now, she did use canned peas and I have done that before.  If you are short on time, you can use canned peas, but last week, for Christopher's birthday, I decided to use frozen peas and I think they were better.  But then I always prefer fresh or frozen.  Also, now that I have a 16 month old grandson, I did not want these to be spicy or hot so I did replace the jalapenos with bell pepper which was just as good, just not as hot.  I used a beef and pork mix sausage with green onions (just because I like green onions) but you could use any sausage you want.  I also tried to trim the bacon of any excess fat on the ends.  When you cut the sausage and the bacon, make sure you dice them into small pieces.  

All in all, this is a very easy recipe...just a little time consuming.  Trust me, you will not mind the extra effort when you taste them and you will enjoy the oohs and ahhs from your friends and family!  Perfect tex-mex side!

TEX-MEX BLACKEYE PEAS
(Serves 8-10)

4 regular cans Blackeye Peas

OR

2 regular size bags frozen Blackeye Peas (cook according to directions on bag)

6 Roma Tomatoes, seeds removed and diced
1 small Onion, diced
6-8 cloves Garlic, minced
1-2 Jalapenos, chopped very small (or use equal amount of bell pepper)
1 bunch of Cilantro, coarsely chopped
1/2 package Bacon (8-10 pieces), diced small
1 regular package Sausage, cut into small pieces (I used a pork-beef mix with green onion)
1-2 cans of Chicken Broth (I use Campbell's)
Salt and Pepper to taste

In a large dutch oven, cook the bacon and sausage. Pour all but 2 tablespoons of grease off and add onions. Cook until onions are transparent.  Add garlic and cook for about 1 minutes to release the flavor and then add jalapenos and tomatoes.  Cook for about 2 more minutes.  

Add the peas with juice to the bacon mixture.  Add the chicken broth and cilantro.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30-45 minutes.

ENJOY!

CLICK HERE FOR PRINTABLE RECIPE

Purple Hull Peas

2012 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony Meal

When my friend Debbie asked me about the recipe for the purple hull peas above, I was very happy to post it.

Little background...my son Chris is a vegetarian and cooks just about every day.  His vegetable of choice these days is peas.  He cooks just about any kind of peas too, cream, blackeye, purple hull..etc.  I bought these peas at the Farmer's Market in Beaumont a couple of weeks ago.  They were fresh and that makes such a difference in taste.

Since Christopher is a vegetarian and my daughter Holly used to have a pet pig, Millie, that lived with us, pork is not really a good choice around here for seasoning peas or beans.  Millie eventually got too large to live with us (she's a big girl...over 200 lbs.).  She now lives very comfortably at the ranch in San Antonio with her little buddy Mudd, one of our other pot bellied pigs (we have 2 more named Pork Chop and Maxwell)!!



  LITTLE MILLIE WALKER



I found a good replacement for bacon though.  It is by the company MorningStar Farms and they are veggie bacon strips.  It has a smoky flavor and a good bacon-y taste.  It is also cholesterol free and has only 4.5 grams of fat in 2 strips.

I usually fix my peas with bacon, onion and seasoning (salt and pepper) and with chicken broth but Christopher cooked them for me this time and he added some poblano and jalapeno peppers.  It was so yummy.  It had such a great flavor...I literally could eat this over rice for a one-dish meal!

I am going to give you two recipes for Purple Hull Peas.  The first one is a spicy, mexican style recipe.  It would be great in place of Charra Beans and as an accompaniment to fajitas, burritos, enchiladas, etc.  The second one is more of the traditional style Purple Hull Peas.

Peppered Purple Hull Peas

2 - bags Purple Hull Peas

6-8 strips of bacon or veggie bacon strips

1-2 tablespoons olive oil (only if using veggie bacon strips)

1/2-Poblano Pepper, chopped

1/2-Jalapeno Pepper, chopped

1-Medium Onion, chopped

10- cloves of Garlic, minced

1-box Vegetable Broth (organic if you can find it)

handful of fresh Cilantro

2-teaspoons Cumin

2-teaspoons Chili Powder

Salt and Pepper
(you could add canned diced tomatoes as well for another layer of flavor)

Fry the bacon or cook the bacon strips, according to instructions, in a large fry pan until crispy.  Remove bacon strips and set aside.  If you used real bacon, pour off all but about a tablespoon or 2 of the bacon grease and add the peppers, onion, and garlic.  If you used veggie bacon strips, add olive oil and next 4 ingredients.  Saute until veggies are softened.  Add purple hull peas and saute a few minutes so that the peas can absorb flavor.  Add vegetable broth.  The broth should cover the peas, but if not you can add water.  Add the rest of the ingredients including the bacon.  Cover and simmer for approximately 30-45 minutes or until tender.

Fresh Home-Cooked Purple Hull Peas

2 - bags Purple Hull Peas

6-8 strips of bacon or veggie bacon strips

1-2 tablespoons Olive Oil (if you used veggie bacon strips)

1-medium Onion, chopped

1-box of Vegetable Broth or Chicken Broth (organic if you can find it)

Salt and Pepper to taste

Fry the bacon or cook the bacon strips, according to instructions, in a large fry pan until crispy.  Remove bacon strips and set aside.  If you used real bacon, pour off all but about a tablespoon or 2 of the bacon grease.  If you used veggie bacon strips, add olive oil.  Add the onions and saute until softened.  (I love the smell of onion cooking in bacon grease)  Add the purple hull peas and saute a few minutes so that the peas can absorb flavors.  Add the bacon and the vegetable or chicken broth. The broth should cover the peas but if not add water.  Cover and simmer for approximately 30-45 minutes or until tender.

FACTS ABOUT PEAS WORTH KNOWING.....
Purple Hull Peas are full of good reasons to eat them.  They are a wonderful source of protein and dietary fiber.  In addition, they are rich in folate.  Folate is a form of vitamin B that has been found important in the prevention of anemia, cancer, and birth defects.  In fact, orange juice, which is often advertised as being a great source of folate, has only about 10 percent of the amount found in a serving of southern peas!! 

ENJOY!
"Click For Printable Recipe For Peppered Peas"
"Click for Printable Recipe For Home-Cooked Purple Hull Peas"