For as long as I’ve known my husband he has been on a quest, every New Year’s, for the perfect dish of black eyed peas. Having lived in Texas for many years, he knows what a good dish of black eyed peas tastes like. However, for as long as he’s lived in Maryland, an acceptable replication of this traditional New Year’s dish, has eluded him.
Maryland exists in a nebulous culinary no man’s land. The folks above us consider us “the South”, the folks below us consider us “the North.” To be honest I don’t see a lot of hardcore evidence in our state cuisine to satisfy either of these labels. I think the folks to the west of the state, who consider us “the East,” probably have it right. Our only noteworthy addition to the culinary annals are dishes made with crab. Not to say that Maryland cuisine can’t be delightful, it’s just not a big part of our state identity. And while northerners might consider us southerners, most native Marylanders are not terribly familiar with traditional southern dishes, like black eyed peas and collard greens. We’ve got to visit our kin down in Hotlanta for some proper soul food.
So when the task to create perfect black eyed pea New Year’s bliss for my husband’s superstitious palette fell to me, I was terribly ill equipped. Year after year we’ve attempted the task together, albeit rather haphazardly. We’ve forgotten to soak the peas, or undercooked them, more times then I can recall. And I certainly don’t remember ever enjoying the results of our efforts.
This year I was determined to succeed. Armed with a recipe by the Goddess of Southern Cooking, Ms. Paula Deen, I bravely set about my task. I remembered to soak the peas the night before! So things were off to a great start in the morning. I fried bacon, sauteed onion, tasted and tweaked all morning long. I’m delighted to say that the results are, according to my husband, the best he’s ever had.* And I gotta say, I enjoyed the dish myself. So much that I’m definitely inclined to make it again. Maybe I’ll add my own Maryland girl touch, a dollop of sour cream.
If you’d like to try your hand at this traditional New Year’s dish, here’s my adaptation of Paula Deen’s recipe:
1 16 oz package of low sodium bacon
1 vidalia onion - chopped
1 16oz package of dried black eyed peas - soak them in a bowl of water overnight & drain before using
1 10 oz can of Rotel diced tomatoes with green chiles, Mild
1 teaspoon salt - or salt to taste towards end of cooking time
1 teaspoon chili powder
3 cups water with 1 tsp chicken flavored “Better than Bullion” dissolved in the water
1 tbsp butter
If you can’t find dried peas, or you don’t have time to soak them, you can go ahead and used canned peas. However, I’ve not used canned peas so I can’t vouch for them. Soak the peas overnight. Fry up the bacon in a frying pan. Set the bacon aside. Saute the chopped onions in the bacon grease in the pan till they are just soft and starting to get transparent. In a sauce pan add the drained peas, can of diced tomatoes with chiles & the onions with the bacon fat. In a pyrex measuring cup dissolve 1 tsp chicken flavor “Better than Bullion” in 3 cups water. Add the chili powder and salt (if desired) to the water. Add the water to the sauce pan. Stir everything well. Put a lid on your pot and set the heat to medium or low as necessary. You are looking for a nice simmer on these peas. Set the timer for 30 minute intervals and check it carefully. My peas took about an hour total with the lid on, and an additional 20 minutes with the lid off. Removing the lid at the end allowed the remaining liquid to reduce and thicken. The texture of the peas is up to your personal preference. I like them on the soft side of al dente. Once my peas were cooked, and the liquid nicely reduced, I salted them to taste, and added the tablespoon of butter to deepen the flavor. Crumble the bacon that you set aside earlier. If you find it hard to crumble bacon, like I do, you can use a pair of clean kitchen shears to simply cut them into nice sized chunks. Spoon some peas into a bowl, and top it off with a healthy handful of bacon.
Enjoy!
*I’m willing to concede that there might be a bit of marital bias in that statement.
