It is believed that the black eyed pea was originally from West Africa and that it was introduced into the Southern United States as early as the 17th century in Virginia. Today the black eyed pea is still widely used through the Southern United States.
The black eyed pea is a great source of calcium, folic acid, protein, and vitamin A. A one cup serving is less than 200 calories.
There is something about black eyed peas that brings back wonderful memories. For me they are the original comfort food when combined with corn bread and pepper sauce.
I remember sitting at the dinner table as young as 3 or 4. Mama would make fried chicken, a big pot of peas, and corn bread. There was always a bottle of pepper sauce and green tomato chow chow on the table. The veggies would consist of turnip greens, homegrown sliced tomatoes and a sliced sweet vadalia onion. Accompanying the dinner was a glass of sweet iced tea.
When we were just starting to eat table food Mama would crumble up a small piece of cornbread on a saucer, ladle out peas with liquid, then mash them up together. We were probably 8 or 9 months old when she started feeding us table food. As we grew older and could feed ourselves we still liked to have her mash up the peas and cornbread. Even though we were capable of doing it ourselves. It always tasted better when she prepared it.
Another fond memory growing up was everyone sitting and shelling the peas. We would shell a bushel or more in one sitting. Depending on the weather we would sit outside and shell or sit around the kitchen table. No matter where we were this was always a great time to socialize with each other.
Once the shelling was completed Mama would go in the kitchen where she would make a mess of peas. A "mess" is a Southern colloquialism for a side dish that accompanied a main course..,a mess of peas, a mess of greens, etc. The rest of the peas would then be blanched (scalding vegetables in boiling water or steam for a short time) before they are frozen. Freezing the peas insured that we would have fresh peas throughout the year. I just loved helping mother put food by.
You can purchase black eyed peas frozen, dried or in the can. My preferred method is fresh, then frozen, then dried, and then canned. I use canned when I am in a hurry.
Prep and cooking method times depends on the source of the peas, Fresh and frozen are cooked pretty much the same way.
Charlotte's Black Eyed Peas
4 cups fresh or frozen black-eyed peas
4 or 5 slices bacon (you can also use a ham hock)
1 large onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups chicken broth (some recipes call to use 6 cups of chicken broth)
3 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Take a 5 quart dutch oven, cook bacon until crisp; set aside to drain on paper towels. Then add the onion and garlic to bacon drippings until tender. Make sure not to scorch. Once onions are translucent add broth, water, salt, pepper and peas. Bring to a boil and skim top if necessary. Adjust stove to low adding bacon to peas. Adjust seasonings to taste, cover and simmer 30 minutes to 1 hour until peas are tender. Makes about 6 servings.
Dried black eyed peas are cooked the same as above, except there is preparation that needs to be done prior to cooking and cooking times are a little longer. Soaking the dried peas is not necessary, but is recommended as it will reduce the length of cooking time. I generally will soak the peas overnight. Remember to dump the water that the peas have been soaking in prior to cooking.
There is a quick soak method that can be used. Quick soak is when you place the peas in your dutch oven and add water to cover the peas. Bring the peas to a boil, remove from heat and set aside for at least an hour. Dump the soak water before you cook the peas.
Cooking time for the dried peas is about 1 to 2 hours.
