Black-eyed Peas with Garlic and Kale

Submitted by CinLin

"This is the recipe I always make for New Year's Day. So many black-eyed pea recipes include ham, which you could add to this one, but we don't miss the meat because of the robust flavors of the kale, garlic and vinegar. This is one of the recipes you don't have to worry about measuring too much. Sometimes, I'll use more kale and fewer beans, if I'm serving this along with a meat main dish. In fact, I'll leave the black-eyed peas out entirely, if I want a light side dish."

 

• Ready In: 40mins
• Ingredients: 7
• Serves: 6

ingredients

• 1 1⁄2 lbs kale, washed and drained
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh garlic (or more to taste)
• 1⁄2 small sweet onion (this is optional and you may prefer to use more. I use vidalias or texas sweets)
• 1 pinch dried red pepper (or more to taste)
• 2 cups cooked black-eyed peas (canned work great)
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar, to taste (I often substitute balsamic vinegar)

directions

1. Pull the kale leaves from the tough stems.
2. Discard the stems and tear or chop the leaves into small (1 inch pieces).
3. In a large pot, boil about 2 inches of water, then add the kale.
4. Cover and cook until the leaves are tender, stirring occasionally (about 15-20 minutes).
5. Drain (reserve the stock for soup, if desired).
6. In a large skillet, combine the oil and onion.
7. Saute until onion is clear.
8. Add the garlic.
9. Cook the onion and garlic over low heat, stirring, about 2 minutes.
10. Add the black-eyed peas and red pepper and cook until blended, stirring (about 3 minutes).
11. Add the kale and stir to blend over low heat.
12. Add the vinegar just before serving.

Reviews

[White Rose Child]

A keeper! I had this week and am finally getting to review it... YUM! The only problem is I had no idea how much kale- 1 1/2 lbs seemed like soooo much! So I just used one gigantic bowlful, lightly steamed instead of boiled. I halved the other ingredients, except the garlic, which (tastily) resulted in me becoming a walking vampire repellant LOL. Oh, and it's great without vinegar too- because I forgot it :-) thanx!!!

 

[Midwife Meg]

Incredible. Absolutely fabulous. Instead of boiling the kale, I sauteed it in several TBS olive oil with the onions and garlic. I also added a chopped up/ leftover baked potato. The balsalmic vinegar added the perfect flavor. I cannot wait until the next potluck so I can offer this dish.

 

[Aly Cant Cook]

I did this recipe exactly as it says, except I used a brown onion instead of a sweet onion. I'm a little bit confused still about this recipe, especially as to which vinegar to use: cider or balsamic. They taste totally different, so how can it be interchangeable?! Maybe that is why the dish didn't really "pop" to us. Next time I'll try with balsamic vinegar.

 

[ATLGRL]

This was a yummy and healthy recipe. However, I did not use all of the kale either. I also added diced, fire-roasted tomatoes and extra garlic. Next time I think I will sautee the onions, garlic, and kale witht the balsamic.

 

[tajgood1]

I have never tried kale before, but purchased some at the farmer's market. This was a great recipe, especially for first timers. I really appreciate the instruction to remove the leaves from the stem. A lot of people may know this already, but I didn't. I tried making beet greens before and they were quite bitter, (I think because I didn't remove the stems!) This is a good tasting and healthy recipe. Thanks!