I had a few dilemmas with this. Were black-eyed beans the same as black-eyed peas, as that’s all I could find in the supermarket? After a bit of a Google, I decided they were.
Then, the recipe called for 350g of dried peas/beans. Fine, I weighed out 350g of beans and left them to soak overnight. Oh, that’s a LOT of beans. Do I really need all of them? I didn’t think so and weighed out 350g of the soaked beans, freezing the rest.
While reading the method, it said to fry the onions and garlic and add the beans then cover with water and boil, then whizz up in a food processor. Won’t there be a load of water? Do I drain it first or what? Still, I didn’t need to worry about that, as the water got absorbed or evaporated or something, so all was fine there.
Rose Elliot, in her book New Complete Vegetarian, says this bake goes well with a spicy tomato sauce or a vegetarian gravy and, if you’re like me and not a make-your-own-gravy kind of girl, I can confirm that Bisto complements it beautifully.
I was mega-made-up with this dish. How nice can some puréed beans with breadcrumbs on top be, I thought? Flipping gorgeous!
Black-eyed pea bake (serves 4)
Taken from Rose Elliot’s New Complete Vegetarian
350g dried black-eyed peas (soaked overnight)
2 large onions, sliced
3 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for greasing
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried marjoram
salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the topping
50g fresh breadcrumbs
50g grated cheese
- Drain and rinse the peas.
- Fry the onions and garlic in the oil for 10 minutes or until the onion is tender but not browned, then add the peas, herbs and water to cover.
- Simmer gently, until the peas are tender (about 25-40 minutes).
- Preheat the oven to 180C/gas mark 4.
- Purée the pea mixture in a food processor or with an electric hand blender. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Spoon the mixture into a greased, shallow ovenproof dish, sprinkle with the breadcrumbs and grated cheese and bake in the oven for about 30 minutes or until the top is golden and crunchy.
1 comment
I have been meaning to do this Black Eyed Bean Bake for ages, as I have Rose Elliot’s cookery book. My dried beans have been languishing in the cupboard for months, so have soaked the beans in preparation for cooking tomorrow. Much of Rose Elliot’s recipes look decidedly nondescript at first sight, but they always turn out tasty and fine. I love her Continental Lentil and Walnut loaf which is my standby for a roast dinner.