Here you go, a new years tradition...
(in the words of Mies van der Rohe (who apparently stole it from Flaubert), God is in the details on this one)
Get the best dried peas you can. If you're in the US I can't recommend Rancho Gordo highly enough. Soak 2 cups of them in well salted water for about six hours (a cup is good for three people, but you'll want leftovers, they freeze great)
Get out a clay pot, preferably unglazed (this is, in my opinion, a crucial step), add the beans, water to cover by two inches, plentiful salt, 2 unpeeled garlic cloves and some dried sage. Let it cook slowly in the clay pot, with a cover on. Be patient, let it come up to heat slowly. Cook till they're done, maybe just shy of fully cooked.
Meanwhile, saute an onion and maybe four cloves of garlic for a bit, let the onion get translucent. Salt as you go. Add a diced green pepper, two diced carrots, and 1/2 tblspn cumin, 1 teaspoon paprika and some red pepper flakes. Let this cook for about five minutes more
Add a small can of crushed tomatoes to this sofritto (I always mouli whole tomatoes). Add some dried oregano (1 tsp) and let is simmer.
Add in your peas, let this whole shebang simmer about twenty minutes, don't let it dry out. Make sure at the end of this process the beans are fully cooked, but they never should be falling apart.
Squeeze in a lemon add some parsley and laugh at those losers who open a can of peas and can't understand what all the fuss is about.
ps-this is a greek inspired version. In the American South they swear by their hoppin john, but I like it this way much better. You can substitute any bean, including lima beans for the black eyed peas. If you insist on pork in your beans, saute some chorizo, substitute smoked paprika for the regular, skip the lemon and call it fabada.
(in the words of Mies van der Rohe (who apparently stole it from Flaubert), God is in the details on this one)
Get the best dried peas you can. If you're in the US I can't recommend Rancho Gordo highly enough. Soak 2 cups of them in well salted water for about six hours (a cup is good for three people, but you'll want leftovers, they freeze great)
Get out a clay pot, preferably unglazed (this is, in my opinion, a crucial step), add the beans, water to cover by two inches, plentiful salt, 2 unpeeled garlic cloves and some dried sage. Let it cook slowly in the clay pot, with a cover on. Be patient, let it come up to heat slowly. Cook till they're done, maybe just shy of fully cooked.
Meanwhile, saute an onion and maybe four cloves of garlic for a bit, let the onion get translucent. Salt as you go. Add a diced green pepper, two diced carrots, and 1/2 tblspn cumin, 1 teaspoon paprika and some red pepper flakes. Let this cook for about five minutes more
Add a small can of crushed tomatoes to this sofritto (I always mouli whole tomatoes). Add some dried oregano (1 tsp) and let is simmer.
Add in your peas, let this whole shebang simmer about twenty minutes, don't let it dry out. Make sure at the end of this process the beans are fully cooked, but they never should be falling apart.
Squeeze in a lemon add some parsley and laugh at those losers who open a can of peas and can't understand what all the fuss is about.
ps-this is a greek inspired version. In the American South they swear by their hoppin john, but I like it this way much better. You can substitute any bean, including lima beans for the black eyed peas. If you insist on pork in your beans, saute some chorizo, substitute smoked paprika for the regular, skip the lemon and call it fabada.
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