Entrees

black-eyed peas with bacon-cornbread dumplings

black-eyed peas

Happy New Year! Baked Chicago wishes everyone a new year – 2013 – filled with health and prosperity. Eating black-eyed peas (the food, not the band) is a long-time Southern tradition for bringing good luck in the year ahead. This black-eyed peas recipe shares the spotlight with some bacon-cornbread dumplings that make this a hearty, satisfying meal.

Black-eyed Peas with Bacon-Cornbread Dumplings

Cook the bacon in a large, heavy cooking pot over medium-high heat until crispy. Remove the bacon from the pan and let cool. Rough chop the bacon and set aside. Remove 1 tablespoon of bacon drippings from the pan and set that aside.

Increase the heat to medium-high and add the chopped onion with the remaining drippings. Saute the chopped onion for about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the garlic and saute for 1 minute more, stirring constantly. Add the chicken stock, water, salt, pepper and black-eyed peas. Bring the entire pot to a boil. Partially cover the pot, reduce the heat and simmer for about 30 minutes or until black-eyed peas are tender. Stir occasionally.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, green onion, corn meal and baking soda. Cut the butter into the flour mixture with a pastry blender until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. Add the chopped bacon, reserved tablespoon of pan drippings and buttermilk. Stir until just combined and a moist dough is formed. With slightly wet hands, divide the mixture into 12 equal portions. Drop the dumplings, one at a time, into the pan. Cover the pan and cook for 8 minutes or until dumplings are done. Stir occasionally.

 

Ingredients:

8 slices applewood-smoked bacon (thick cut), chopped
1 cup onion, chopped
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
3 cups chicken stock
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
16 ounces black-eyed peas
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup green onions, finely chopped
1/4 cup corn meal
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons butter, chilled and cut into pieces
1/2 cup buttermilk

 

Number of servings: 4

Cooking time: 38 minutes

 

3,769 Comments

Leave a Reply