Heirloom Sea Island Red Peas
Servings 4 people
Equipment
- cutting board
- chef knife
- Medium mixing bowl
- medium pot with lid
- measuring cups and spoons
Ingredients
- 1 cup Sea Island Red Peas
- 1 quart chicken stock or ham stock (use vegetable stock for a vegetarian option)
- 3 slices of bacon
- ½ whole onion, skinned and cut through the root to leave intact
- ½ whole carrot, peeled
- 1 or 2 stalk celery
- 2 clove garlic
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tsp curry powder
- ½ tsp cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Soak the red peas in twice as much water as needed to cover them since they absorb the most water. Place uncovered in a refrigerator overnight.
- In a heavy bottom pot, render the bacon over medium heat. Cook the bacon until it is crispy. Remove the bacon from the pot, chop, and reserve.
- While the bacon is cooking, take an onion and half it through the root end, leaving it intact. Next, peel half of a large carrot and gather the celery and the rest of the ingredients together.
- Add the peas, onion, carrot, celery, garlic, and seasonings to the pot with the bacon drippings. Next, add the 1 quart of chicken or ham stock.* Bring to a boil on high heat. Cover with a lid and reduce the heat to simmer.*For a vegetarian option, omit the bacon drippings and add vegetable stock.
- Cook the peas for 75 to 90 minutes or until the peas are soft and cooked. Remove the onion, celery, carrot, and bay leaf.****You can puree the cooked vegetables along with the ⅓ cup of peas (in the next step) if desired.
- Measure out ⅓ cup of the peas and add to a food processor. Puree to make a paste. The idea here is to use the starch from the peas to help thicken the dish slightly.
- Add the puree back into the pot with the peas along with the bacon. -Taste for final seasoning.
Notes
Cornbread is a natural side accompaniment to red peas. I also sometimes garnish in my house with fresh minced onion and a couple of drops of clear hot pepper sauce like Trappey's brand.