Lucky and Light
Eating black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day is said to bring good luck in the new year. Of course, most black-eyed pea dishes are rich with ham hocks or pork. We’ve come up with a low-fat black-eyed pea salad that tastes great and will ensure your luck for the coming year just as well as your old high-fat favorites.
Fresh black-eyed peas can be found in the produce section of most markets and are convenient because there’s no need for soaking or long cooking--they cook in less than 20 minutes.
After they’re done, simply stir in the other ingredients except the greens, another traditional New Year’s dish. Steaming the greens is not only a quick way of cooking, but also helps them retain some of the vitamins and nutrients lost when they are boiled in water.
The flavor of the salad is better when chilled for a few hours but best when refrigerated overnight. Buy an extra bunch of greens to serve the salad on. For a colorful garnish, arrange a few roasted peppers on the plate. Either roast your own or, if you’re in a hurry, pick up a jar of peppers at the market.
NEW YEAR’S BLACK-EYED PEAS AND MUSTARD GREENS
1 (11-ounce) package fresh black-eyed peas
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup minced onion
1 tomato, chopped
1/4 cup minced cilantro
2 teaspoons chopped oregano
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 bunches mustard greens, stems removed
Rinse black-eyed peas. Bring to boil with water to cover in saucepan. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until tender, 15 to 18 minutes. Drain.
Combine peas, garlic, onion, tomato, cilantro, oregano, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and cayenne in bowl.
Put 1 bunch mustard greens in steamer and steam about 10 minutes. Remove leaves from steamer and let cool enough to handle.
Chop cooked greens and stir into black-eyed peas. Cover and refrigerate several hours or overnight.
Just before serving, arrange leaves from remaining bunch mustard greens on platter and top with black-eyed peas.
6 servings. Each serving:
246 calories; 636 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 3 grams fat; 42 grams carbohydrates; 16 grams protein; 3.58 grams fiber.