Terrible Band, Great Food

The black-eyed pea isn't an ingredient you usually find in a lot of northwest cuisine, even in our famed "fusion" dishes. But if you're looking for variety in your protein sources, these guys are tasty and can be prepared in hundreds of ways: stews, fritters, pancakes, with corn, with pumpkin, with chard, with watercress, the list goes on and on. Black-eyed peas came to the western hemisphere when slaves carried them to the Carribean from their origins in western and central Africa. Here's a tasty Trinidad-style recipe Judy and I recently tried out from Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian. Once you have the spices, it's easy to have the vegetables in your weekly grocery run, and the only thing special you have to remember is soak the dried beans the night before.

• 1½ cups dried black-eyed peas
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 scallions, cut into fine rounds
• 1 celery stalk, cut into small dice
• ½ green pepper, cored and seeded, cut into small dice

Spices:

• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1½ teaspoons salt
• ½ teaspoon dried thyme (or 1½ teaspoons fresh)
• ½ teaspoon allspice
• ½ teaspoon ground mustard powder
• ½ teaspoon crushed dried red chilis or cayenne (¼ to ½ teaspoon depending on how spicy you like it)

Rinse and drain the black-eyed peas, then soak them overnight with about 5 inches of water covering them. Drain them the next day.

Put the oil into a large pot on medium-high heat. When hot, add the scallions, celery, carrot, and green pepper. Stir and saute for about 5 minutes, or until the vegetables just start to brown. Add the drained peas, 4½ cups of water, all the spices except salt, and bring to a boil. Cover, turn the heat to low, and simmer gently for 40 minutes, or until the peas are tender. Add the salt, stir, and cook another 20 minutes on low heat.