"A gourmet who thinks of calories is like a tart who looks at her watch." - James Beard
Black-eyed peas are traditionally served on New Years Day to bring luck in the coming year.
They are SO easy to make in the Instant Pot, or any electric or non-electric pressure cooker, you don't need a special occasion to make these beans!
Enjoy them on New Years Day along with some Collard Greens for good luck!
Here's the recipe:
Ingredients:
1 pound (454 g) dried black-eyed peas
4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
6.5 cups water
2 tablespoons Better Than Bouillon vegetable or chicken base
Better Than Bouillon is amazing stuff, but if you don't have it, you can use chicken stock in place of the water, or use stock cubes mixed into the water.
Directions:
Place all ingredients in the Instant Pot. Set it to Manual at High Pressure for 25 minutes.
Once cooking is complete, let the pressure release naturally.
Serve the black-eyed peas with some of the delicious cooking liquid, and use the rest of the liquid to make Collard Greens, or save it for soup!
I love spring. I love the mild temperatures and green things popping up everywhere.
If you need to spend extra time out in the garden this spring, this super-easy meal will save time in the kitchen. It can be whipped up quickly with staples in the pantry, as long as you have some fresh herbs on hand.
We love orrcchiette because the little ears fill up with all the ingredients making a perfect bite every time. Here, diced pancetta and peas nestle inside the pasta in a quick cheesy sauce. This recipe comes from Food & Wine magazine.
Here's what you need for this tasty spring meal.
This extremely simple soup is perfect for spring! It is served at room temperature, so you can make it a little in advance and garnish just before serving.
Of course, fresh peas are the best thing ever. But this tasted very sweet and delicious with frozen peas, so you can enjoy a taste of springtime anytime.
This recipe is inspired by Cooking Light magazine. Here's what you need for delicious soup:
This recipe was inspired by Clean Eating magazine. They served it without the pasta, but the linguine makes it a hearty meal.
Our garden is wrapping up for the year but we still have plenty of herbs and peppers out there.
In late September, a little snow pea plant started growing. So Matt brought it inside before the first frost.
At first it seemed a little wilty after being transplanted into a big pot, but it soon perked right up.
And now the peas are starting to grow. We should be able to get at least one meal out of this plant before winter. What a nice surprise!
Warning: this is another one of those controversial recipes where plenty of people have a very specific way of making it. But this way tastes good, so I don't mind if it's not 100% authentic.
Carbonara is one of several miracle pasta recipes that come together with pasta water, this time adding bacon, eggs and cheese. What could be better? Well I also like to add fresh peas, although that's not strictly traditional.
I was lucky enough to find shelled fresh peas at the market, but frozen peas work great in this. I like peas but I never eat them as a side dish, only as an addition to pasta or curry.
Also, you need bacon. I prefer to use pancetta which is Italian bacon that's not smoked. You can also just use regular bacon.
In addition to the pancetta, some eggs, at room temperature if possible.
Start a large pot of salted water boiling for the pasta.
I used whole wheat spaghetti. I found this brand at my local Italian speciality store but they don't have it any more. I wish I could find it again, it's good! You can use whatever spaghetti you like.
Once the water is boiling, add the pasta.
Meanwhile, chop your pancetta into a medium dice.
Sauté in a pan until just slightly crisp.
You'll need lots of good parmesan cheese for this.
I use Parmigiano Reggiano, about a cup grated.
Crack 2 eggs in a bowl.
And lightly mix with the cheese to form a thick paste.
I also like to add some fresh parsley.
I chop it and throw it right in to the egg mixture but you can add it in at the end too.
Now here's where there are some difference in opinion on how to proceed. In the authentic recipe there are no peas allowed. But I like the fresh flavour they bring to this otherwise heavy dish.
I threw the fresh peas into the past water for the last few minutes of cooking. Frozen peas would get the same treatment.
Before draining the pasta and peas, scoop out a cup of the hot pasta water. Try not to get any peas in it!
Drain the pasta and peas.
Then throw the whole lot into the pan with the pancetta. Top with the egg and cheese mixture and toss to combine, adding hot pasta water as needed to thin the sauce and help cook the eggs. The warmth of the pasta and water cooks the eggs without scrambling them.
Sprinkle generously with freshly ground pepper and serve. This isn't a light meal but it is very tasty and can easily be thrown together with pantry staples as long as you have some kind of bacon on hand.
.JPG "fresh peas")
