If you want to prosper in 2011- Black Eyed Peas

Several New Years traditions began with Jewish New Years traditions around Rosh Hashana. The food traditions, with the Shepardi Jews, moved to Georgia in the 1700's and the traditions have been given a good dose of Southern flare and hotsauce.

Of those traditions, black eyed peas and greens symbolize prosperity and money. With that in mind, I decided to modify a recipe from Vegetarian Suppers and use some black eyed peas with spinach and onion.

I start with half a bag of black eyed peas, the day before, because they have to soak in cold water over night and simmer for over an hour before being ready to eat.


To a large non-stick pan I added olive oil and one whole yellow onion, chopped. After the onion has cooked a bit, I added a couple handfuls of fresh parsley leaves, garlic powder, paprika, and a tablespoon of tomato paste. I stirred that a bit until incorporated and fragrant then added the spinach. About a half kilo of fresh spinach should do it. Once that has wilted. I strain most of the liquid from the black eyed peas, and add them to the spinach mixture. Salt and pepper as desired and serve over brown rice or bulgar, as I have in the picture. I heaping dallop of plain rich yogurt really goes well with this, and I've used a thick Turkish yogurt, although sour cream would be a good substitute.