Comments on: Black-Eyed Peas with Spinach http://leitesculinaria.com/11752/recipes-black-eyed-peas-with-spinach.html This James Beard Award-winning site from David Leite offers food writing, cookbook and Portuguese recipes, giveaways, more. Sun, 21 Mar 2010 23:47:48 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Testers Choice http://leitesculinaria.com/11752/recipes-black-eyed-peas-with-spinach.html#comment-8698 Testers Choice Mon, 15 Mar 2010 22:18:50 +0000 http://leitesculinaria.com/wordpress/?p=11752#comment-8698 [Allison Parker] I'm partial to black-eyed peas— especially when prepared Mediterranean-style, using lemon and olive oil, as in this recipe. I grew up eating variations of this dish, but everything was usually just dumped in a casserole and baked, and the spinach tended to be overdone. Here, adding the spinach at the end of the cooking time prevents this from happening, and the color remains a lovely, bright green. The do-it-yourself touch of passing individual toppings on the side is another technique I'll be adopting from now on, perfect for when you have a roomful of people to serve, each with a different preference. The recipe is extremely easy, unfussy, and makes a healthy side dish. Try it with pork, chicken, or a meaty fish. It also makes a comforting meal in itself. It should be served as directed: still warm, with toppings at room temperature. One suggestion, though: If you plan to enjoy some of the cooking liquid with the dish (but even if you don't), the recipe benefits from the addition of more than just a pinch or two of salt in the water at the end. If vegetarianism is not at issue, toss in a ham hock at the beginning of the cooking time. Passing around crumbled feta cheese with the other toppings is another way to boost the salt and add some additional texture. When the feta begins to melt slightly and mingle with cooking liquid in the bottom of your bowl, that's when things start to get really, really good. [Allison Parker] I’m partial to black-eyed peas—
especially when prepared Mediterranean-style, using lemon and olive oil, as in this recipe. I grew up eating variations of this dish, but everything was usually just dumped in a casserole and baked, and the spinach tended to be overdone. Here, adding the spinach at the end of the cooking time prevents this from happening, and the color remains a lovely, bright green. The do-it-yourself touch of passing individual toppings on the side is another technique I’ll be adopting from now on, perfect for when you have a roomful of people to serve, each with a different preference.

The recipe is extremely easy, unfussy, and makes a healthy side dish. Try it with pork, chicken, or a meaty fish. It also makes a comforting meal in itself. It should be served as directed: still warm, with toppings at room temperature. One suggestion, though: If you plan to enjoy some of the cooking liquid with the dish (but even if you don’t), the recipe benefits from the addition of more than just a pinch or two of salt in the water at the end. If vegetarianism is not at issue, toss in a ham hock at the beginning of the cooking time. Passing around crumbled feta cheese with the other toppings is another way to boost the salt and add some additional texture. When the feta begins to melt slightly and mingle with cooking liquid in the bottom of your bowl, that’s when things start to get really, really good.

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