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Black-Eyed Peas
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- Total Time
- 2 hours, plus overnight soaking
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
- 2pounds dried black-eyed peas
- 1sweet onion, such as Vidalia, peeled and halved through the root end (keep the root attached)
- 4whole cloves
- 1garlic head, cut in half
- 10black peppercorns
- 2dried bay leaves
- 1chile de árbol or other small dried chile
- 1cup olive oil
- 2tablespoons kosher salt, plus more to taste
- Hot sauce, to taste
Preparation
- Step 1
Put the peas in a large bowl, add water to cover by 2 inches, and soak overnight.
- Step 2
Blacken the onion: If you have a gas stove, turn one burner on high and place the onion halves directly on the grates next to the flame and cook, turning occasionally, until the onion is charred on all sides, about 5 minutes. Otherwise, heat the broiler and broil the onion on a baking sheet a few inches from the heat, turning occasionally, until charred, 1 to 2 minutes. Set aside to cool.
- Step 3
When the onion is cool enough to handle, poke 2 cloves into each half, and add the onion to a large stockpot. Drain the peas, discarding the liquid, and then transfer the peas to the pot.
- Step 4
Place the garlic, peppercorns, bay leaves and chile on a 12-inch square of cheesecloth and wrap tightly, using twine to seal the packet.
- Step 5
Add 6 quarts water and the spice packet to the pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Skim any foam that collects on the surface, then reduce to a simmer. Stir in the olive oil and 1 tablespoon salt and cook, stirring and skimming occasionally, until the peas are fully cooked and the cooking liquid has thickened, 1 to 2 hours.
- Step 6
Discard the spice packet, season with the remaining 1 tablespoon salt (or to taste) and the hot sauce and serve.
Private Notes
Cooking Notes
Excellent recipe. The true taste comes through. I can also recommend instead of cheese cloth to tie up the spices /since I halve the recipe/ I use a coffee filter that goes into a regular coffee pot to enclose the spices and tie up with string. Then I can pull it out and discard.
Traditionally, black eyed peas are eaten on the Jewish New Years (Rosh Hashana), along with other foods whose names signify good luck for the upcoming year. The Hebrew name for these peas is "increase" - symbolizing our wish to have a fruitful year, with many merits.
Okay my first thought is why tie up all the flavor in cheesecloth and discard it, especially the garlic! Even the peppercorns are fine being loose, if you encounter one you can remove it from your spoon or just eat it, which gives a zap of black pepper flavor. And it is easy enough to remove two bay leaves at the end. There is also no note about what to do with the giant onion halves at the end, not to mention the cloves, which is, in my opinion, the main spice I would not want to bite down on.
Can you use fresh Black-eyed peas instead of dried? How would you modify the recipe?
This looks interesting, and great to have it vegan rather than the usual way of cooking black eyed peas with pork of some type, but a full cup of olive oil for 2 pounds of dried legumes? That's a lot of fat, especially if it's not being used to sauté or brown some of the ingredients.
There is no reason to soak black eyed peas overnight. If you want, you can soak them in hot water for an hour, rinse them. Ad cold water and cook them. Or just cook them without soaking for an hour.
I think the water problem was a typo with the units. 6 cups worked very well- 6 quarts would have been impossible in my stew pot.
This sounds delightful. I'd especially like to try stewing the roasted onion. My mother made a similar dish in India, frying cumin seeds with sliced onions at the outset and adding a dash of turmeric and a spoon of red chilli flakes to the water before bringing it to a boil. That's what I'll cook this new year's day!
Instant Pot version: 1 cup beans, 2 onions (still only 4 cloves), only 2 tbs of olive oil. Soaked the beans for about 2 hours prior. Once onions were charred with cloves, drained beans and added everything to the Instant Pot. Added just enough water to almost cover the beans and 1 tbs salt / 2 tbs olive oil / spice packet. Set to High-Pressure cook for 17 mins; 15 min natural release. Added more salt, hot sauce, and lemon to finish. The onions melted into the beans, but it was tasty nonetheless.
Half a garlic head? Is this cut in half longitudinally (through the poles) or widthwise (through the equator)? The latter would expose all the cut surfaces. What would the former do? Why not just smash and peel several garlic cloves and use those? What is the reason for this specific technique of halved garlic?
Sadly, Rancho Gordo black-eyed peas are sold out, but I (heh, heh) bought mine when no one as thinking of New Year's. It's still good with other beans, but some at supermarkets are old and take a longer time to cook. Happy New Year!
I'm glad to see some notes from those who actually made these beans. I halved the recipe, but used a whole onion; for the rest, I followed exactly & I thought these beans were quite bland. I started with 3 quarts of water and drained most of that at the end because the broth was thin & not very tasty. Based on a dish I had at a Southern style NY Day party, I just added diced tomatoes and their juices and it's looking and tasting a lot better now! I'll be adding some hot sauce at the table too
I think you can use canned beans with the seasoning listed in the recipe. Cooking for 1 requires dexterity!
I'm going to try this recipe. I cook black eyed peas frequently. I'm also vegan so I appreciate Ms. Bailey providing a vegan version of her family's recipe. I've never made my peas with cloves so I'm anxious to see how this will taste. I always cook my peas with onions, green and red peppers (sauted prior to adding) and celery but I want to try the peas cooked with the cloves.
As a member of the Rancho Gordo Bean Club I looked hopefully into my cupboard this morning and happily discovered a bag of Blackeyes! Hooray for Steve having the foresight to provide the necessary legume for the holidays!
Best bean recipe known to humankind. Add bacon or ham. Two ancho chiles is even better. Good with any type of bean. I have been eating this recipe every week since the beginning of the new year because it is so good. I make a pot and put it in the fridge every morning I hear 2 cups of beans and broth with 4-5 cups of power greens till they wilt and eat my “beans and greens” this may be the year I finally reach my health goals. Thanks NYT!
Critical to use Rancho Gordo black eyed peas! The Best! Shorter soak. Two hours. Shorter cooking 90 minutes for 1 pound. I added andouille sausage, omitted celery and added red bell pepper and jalapeno garnish Cloves in the charred onion is genius.
This is the best recipe for black eyed peas. I made it for the new year, and it’s so good I’m making it again two weeks later. I love reheating it with some power greens that wilt into it and then laying it on top of more raw power greens. It’s absolutely delightful, filling and healthy. Thanks NYT.
For all the many years I've prepared black-eyed peas on New Year's Day, this was hands-down the best recipe I've used for several reasons. I did, as I've done for some time, add two smoked ham hocks from and therefore reduced the olive oil -- but using a high quality EVOO gave a rich depth of flavor. I'm deeply grateful to those here who steered me to Ranch Gordo heirloom beans, a game-changer, and this recipe also introduced me to the sultry sublime arbol chili. Definitely a keeper.
NY Times, please change the incorrect water measurement. 6 Quarts is way too much, it should be about 6 cups by my measurement, with 2 lbs of peas and in my large Dutch oven. Amazing recipe! I chop up the garlic and throw in with the peas rather than discarding it.
Another good method for charring onions is to put a cookie cooling grid over the gas flame and keep turning them over as you do other things instead of wearing out your arm.
I bring all the veg and beans to a simmer, let it steep in the Wonderbag a few hours, then divide out the portions for vegan or allergic guests, add a smoked turkey leg to the main portion and smoked paprika to the vegan pot, and finish with two pots. Everybody happy. Charred onion is key.
It’s fine without the oil, becomes zero point food on weight watchers.
Made a half recipe in the instapot. Used half a very large onion blackened with a kitchen torch, about 2/3 head of garlic, cloves peeled and sliced in half and thrown in, 1 1/2 bay leaves, full 1/2 c. Olive oil, all the cloves and peppercorns and no dried pepper. Used 4 1/2 cups of water, cooked 20 minutes with a 15 minute release. There was some broth but not an overwhelming amount. Delicious.
Really gorgeous flavors, achieved simply. Beps don't need to be soake, so save time there. Don't have a grill, so I used a cast iron grill pan on stove top for the onions. Just threw the spices into the broth as recommended by someone. Simple. Delish! Leftovers with gravy made from broth , vegan chikun, and onion, pepper, garlic saute. Yum!
We didn’t have cheesecloth (or coffee filters) so we let the spices float freely, and that turned out fine! We used eight cups of water (2 quarts) and the full cup of olive oil. Cooked for an hour and 45 minutes; came out creamy and delicious.
agree with not tying up the spices..just add them...NYT recipes often have unnecessary steps to make recipes both more complicated and requiring more dishes/pots etc than are needed...good flavor though without the tying up
The "fresh" blackeyes are simply the same dry beans from the market, rehydrated. You are just paying double for water. I speak with some authority, having grown them commercially for several years. Beans are harvested in the summer, and dried in the field until the plants are dry enough for the combine to harvest them. Used canned if you're in a hurry.
The black eyed peas really need the added flavorings. We eat meat so I added pork bones & broth with the other ingredients. Near the end I added rice and a little more broth. It was hearty and filling for a winters day. I'm not sure my daughter would have liked it enough to go for seconds had I not added the pork and rice.
These turned out fantastic! The only spice I bothered tying up (in a teabag) was the cloves, which I knew I wouldn't be able to find and didn't want to bite into. My wife appreciated the whole (peeled) garlic cloves remaining in the pot where she could mash them into her bowl. Used a tej patta leaf instead of bay laurel and it worked wonderfully. Next time I'll add a parmesan rind to the pot!
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