Black-Eyed Peas & Polenta with Minced Collards

Black-eyed peas: so affordable--even if organic--so rooted in Southern cuisine and so iconic in African-American culture. As much as I adore this legume (and would not miss eating it on New Year's Day to guarantee good luck for another year), I didn't cook black-eyed peas much in 2011. Though my family and I are pescetarians, the bulk of our diet is bean and grain based. Meals can get humdrum. In 2012, I've resolved to make our bean-and-grain meals more elegant and sexy. 

Recipes:

Black-Eyed Peas

Ingredients

2 cups dried black-eyed peas

4 cups water

1/2 cup yellow onion, chopped

3 cloves crushed garlic

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1/2 teaspoon chipotle pepper, ground

2-inch piece fresh turmeric, grated

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 cup low sodium vegetable broth

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon salt

2 rainbow carrots, shredded--1 red, 1 golden--for garnish

1. Spread dried peas on a cookie sheet or place in a large bowl. Sort and pick through peas to remove broken peas and small stones (if you see any). 
2. Place peas in 3-quart cooking pot and rinse peas several times under running water; drain and repeat. Fill pot (containing peas) with 4 cups of water and set aside.
3. Saute onion in 8- to 10-inch skillet, over medium heat, until translucent.
4. Add garlic and saute for 30 seconds.
5. Add spices to the cooked onion and garlic; spoon mixture into pot containing peas and water.
6. Bring uncovered pot of peas to a boil over medium heat. Cover and reduce heat to medium low. Cover and simmer for 1 hour or until tender. Check peas every 15 minutes and stir the pot to prevent the peas from sticking to the bottom of the pot. 
7. Add vegetable broth when half the liquid in the pot has evaporated.
8. Add salt at the end of cooking. Add 1/4 less teaspoon of salt if you do not use low-sodium vegetable broth.
9. Garnish with grated carrots (see "Assembling the Dish" below).

Black-eyed Peas

Turmeric, Freshly Grated

Collards

Ingredients

1/4 chopped onion

1 clove crushed garlic

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes

3/4 cup low-sodium vegetable broth

1 tablespoon soy sauce

3/4 pound collard greens, rolled and sliced

1. Saute onion in olive oil until translucent; add garlic and saute for 30 seconds.
2. Add red pepper flakes and vegetable broth.
3. Cook greens on medium-low heat until tender.
4. Add soy sauce.
5. Allow to cool down for 10 minutes; place greens in food processor and pulse in short bursts until greens are minced (see photo below).

Sliced Collards

Collards Minced in Food Processor

Polenta with Minced Collards

Instructions

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 cups water

3/4 cup quick-cooking polenta

2 heaping tablespoons mascarpone 

1/4 teaspoon white pepper

1. Add salt to water and bring to a boil.
2. Add polenta gradually while stirring to avoid clumps. Polenta will become thick quickly; avoid allowing it to clump by continuing to stir. 
3. Stir in mascarpone and white pepper and stir until polenta consistency becomes creamy.
4. Add minced collards and stir until collards are distributed throughout the polenta mixture.
5. Spray an 8x8x2-inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
6. Pour in polenta mixture and let sit for 15-20 minutes until firm (it's OK to put polenta into the refrigerator for 10 minutes if you're pressed for time). 

Minced Greens Stirred into Polenta

Assembling the Dish:

Slice polenta to yield nine servings. Spoon peas over each serving of polenta with minced greens. Garnish with shredded rainbow carrots and serve. Serves nine.

Rainbow Carrots