Name: Black Eyed Pea Stew
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 2 tbsp olive oil; 1 onion, about 150 g, chopped; 2 carrots, about 150 g, diced; 2 sticks celery, about 80 g, diced; 3 cloves garlic, crushed; 1 tsp smoked paprika; 400 g tinned chopped tomatoes; 480 g drained tinned black-eyed peas; 500 ml vegetable stock; 150 g kale, stems removed; ½ tsp salt

Black Eyed Pea Stew: Step by Step

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Soften the onion, carrot and celery in the oil in a large pan over medium heat for 8 minutes.
Add the garlic and paprika for 1 minute, then the tomatoes, peas and stock. Simmer for 25 minutes, mashing a few peas against the side.
Stir in the kale and simmer for 5 minutes.
Season with the salt and serve.

Keep an Eye on These

Build the flavour at the start.
Add the paprika late.
Mash some peas to thicken.
Taste for salt at the end.

If You're Missing Something

An eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder per clove is the stand-in usually given when you are out of fresh garlic; it will not brown the same way, and it burns easily, so add it with the liquid.

About This Recipe

Most home versions come out bland, and the fix is to build the flavour at the start. Beans take on whatever you cook them in, so the stock, the vegetables and the spices all matter.

Soften the onion, carrot and celery in the oil for 8 minutes, until they are sweet and starting to colour. This is called a soffritto, and it is the base of the stew. Add the smoked paprika and garlic only for the last minute. Paprika burns quickly and turns bitter if it fries for long.

Tip in the tomatoes, stock and peas and simmer for 25 minutes, until the broth has thickened and the vegetables are soft. Mash a few peas against the side of the pan to thicken it.

Stir in the kale for the last 5 minutes, so it softens and stays green. Taste for salt, which depends on the stock. Serve with rice, cornbread or crusty bread. The stew is better after a day, as the flavours settle and deepen.

To Go With It

Rice · Cornbread · Crusty bread · Hot sauce

Storing Leftovers

Keeps in the fridge for 4 days.