COMMENT:
Blackeyed peas have become a tradition on New Year's Day here in
Louisiana. They are wonderful when slowly cooked with smoked ham
or even fresh green beans, but I really enjoy them in this less
conventional way, as a dip. Try them next January 1st and see if
your luck improves.
INGREDIENTS:
- 2-15 ounce cans blackeyed peas
- 8 strips of bacon
- 1 cup finely chopped onions
- 1/2 cup finely chopped celery
- 1/2 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
- 1/4 cup diced garlic
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 3 chicken bouillon cubes
- pinch of cinnamon
- pinch of nutmeg
- 1 tsp sugar
- 2 cups chopped tomatoes
- 1/4 cup chopped jalapenos
- 3 tbsps flour
- salt and cracked pepper to taste
- Louisiana Gold Pepper Sauce to taste
METHOD:
In a heavy bottom dutch oven, cook bacon strips over medium high
heat until golden brown and fat is rendered. Remove bacon, chop
fine and return to pot. Into the bacon drippings, add onions, celery,
bell pepper and garlic. Saute three to five minutes or until vegetables
are wilted. Add ketchup, bouillon cubes, cinnamon, nutmeg and sugar.
Using a wire whisk, blend until all ingredients are mixed thoroughly.
Add tomatoes and jalapenos and continue to cook two to three minutes.
Pour in blackeyed peas and continue to simmer for thirty additional
minutes. Sprinkle in flour, blend well and cook an additional ten
minutes. Season to taste using salt, pepper and Louisiana Gold.
Adjust seasonings to your liking, pour into a souffle dish and serve
hot with French bread croutons or miniature corn bread muffins.
****LAGNIAPPE****
Few people realize that the Africans, coming to the New World, gave
us not only yams and okra but also their famous congre or blackeyed
peas, as we know them today. They arrived in Louisiana from the
Virginias and Carolinas around the 1720's and by the Civil War,
there were approximately 11,000 Africans in New Orleans. The men
tended the fields and the women became cooks and housekeepers, influencing
Louisiana cooking like no other nationality. |
